Bitcoin’s ‘Uptober’ Streak Snaps as Mid-Month Sell-Off Turns October Red

Bitcoin’s six-year “Uptober” streak came to an abrupt end in October, as a mid-month sell-off erased early gains and left the world’s largest cryptocurrency closing the month in the red.

According to CoinDesk Data, Bitcoin’s October performance marked its first negative finish since 2018, breaking a trend that had become something of a seasonal ritual for traders.

The turning point arrived on October 10, when former U.S. President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on China amid escalating rare-earth tensions. The headline sparked a broad risk-off move across global markets, spilling heavily into crypto.

Bitcoin quickly dropped from the low $120,000s to around $105,000, triggering a cascade of liquidations across derivatives venues. Over the next 48 hours, tens of billions of dollars in leveraged positions were wiped out, while more than half a trillion dollars in crypto market value vanished before prices found a temporary floor.

The sell-off wasn’t driven by any crypto-specific catalyst, but rather a collision between macro headlines and crowded positioning.

By month’s end, the pattern across most major tokens was the same: early strength, a sharp mid-month flush, and a muted rebound that failed to reclaim prior highs. Ether, Solana, and XRP all followed this same “flush–base–fade” trajectory, finishing October lower.

One exception was BNB, which absorbed the volatility and managed to close October up 4.2%, carving a higher low in the final weeks and emerging as the only major to print a green monthly candle. A few smaller-cap tokens — including ZEC, XMR, and WBTC — also ended the month higher, showing that pockets of strength persisted beneath the surface.

The “Uptober” nickname, a long-running meme within the crypto community, was born from Bitcoin’s consistent history of October gains between 2019 and 2024, as shown on CoinGlass’s Bitcoin Monthly Returns heat map. This year’s red print serves as a reminder that seasonal trends are tendencies, not guarantees, especially as market conditions shift.

Differences between performance dashboards also helped shape perceptions. CoinGlass reports strict calendar-month, close-to-close data, while rolling 30-day metrics on other platforms can include early-October highs — sometimes exaggerating the month’s apparent decline. Despite the variations, the conclusion was clear: Bitcoin’s 2025 “Uptober” turned into a Red October.