Bitcoin hits new all-time high, crosses $125,000 for the first time as 'Uptober' momentum builds

Bitcoin's price hit a new all-time high above $125,000 early Sunday morning as markets continue their "Uptober" momentum in the face of a U.S. government shutdown.

At around 12:45 a.m. ET, the price of bitcoin touched the $125,700 level, according to Coinbase. The world's largest cryptocurrency's previous all-time high was set on Aug. 14 at around $124,290.

Bitcoin traded at $123,158 publication time, according to The Block's price data. Bitcoin has posted October gains in 10 of the past 12 years, and is up more than 11% in the first five days of the month.

The government officially shut down Oct. 1 after Congress failed to reach a funding deal. Notably, this happened just as a slew of altcoin ETFs were getting set to launch.

"The U.S. government shutdown has renewed discussion around Bitcoin’s store-of-value role, as political dysfunction underscores interest in decentralised assets," Fabian Dori, CIO at Sygnum Bank, said in an email. "At the same time, the broader environment – characterised by loose liquidity conditions, a service-led acceleration in the business cycle, and narrowing underperformance relative to equities and gold – has drawn attention to digital assets."

Market data says recent price action in bitcoin may be linked to an accumulation phase, according to Dori. Of note, spot Bitcoin ETFs just had their second-highest weekly inflows since launch.

"Selling pressure from long-term holders appears to be easing, while short-term investors show signs of stabilisation after a period of realized losses," he stated. "Historically, periods marked by cooling speculative activity and steadier positioning have sometimes preceded significant moves in Bitcoin, though outcomes remain highly variable."

Meanwhile, the price of ether is moving quietly in the background, rising 7.5% against BTC over the past week.

"Historically, these have been the signals of a reversal into altcoins," said Nic Puckrin, crypto analyst and co-founder of The Coin Bureau. "And while this market cycle has been very different from 2021 so far, we are beginning to see signs of altcoin outperformance, albeit very selectively. We are certainly at a point in the cycle where it's worth paying attention to a selection of assets beyond BTC."

Elsewhere, the total market capitalization of stablecoins broke above $300 billion for the first time on Friday after rising 6.5% over the past month, according to DeFiLlama data.