From Uptober to Red October: What Derailed Bitcoin’s Bullish Momentum?

Bitcoin’s Six-Year “Uptober” Run Ends as Mid-Month Shock Turns October Red

November 1, 2025

Bitcoin’s six-year streak of October gains has come to an end. The world’s largest cryptocurrency closed the month lower after a sharp mid-month sell-off erased early strength and left most major tokens struggling to recover.

According to CoinDesk Data, October 2025 marked Bitcoin’s first negative October since 2018, snapping what traders had come to call the “Uptober” trend — a period when Bitcoin historically posted solid gains each October between 2019 and 2024.

The reversal came on October 10, when former President Donald Trump threatened steep new tariffs on China amid tensions over rare earth minerals. The remarks triggered a broad risk-off wave across global markets, hitting crypto hardest.

Bitcoin tumbled from the low $120,000s to around $105,000 in rapid trade, while altcoins saw deeper declines as thin liquidity met heavy leverage. Over the following 48 hours, derivatives exchanges liquidated tens of billions of dollars in positions, wiping out more than $500 billion in total crypto market capitalization before prices stabilized.

The sell-off was driven more by macro market shock than crypto-specific catalysts, exposing how vulnerable heavily leveraged positions remain to external headlines.

By the end of the month, Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, and XRP all traced similar patterns — a strong start, a mid-month collapse, and a partial rebound that failed to reclaim early highs. In contrast, BNB defied the trend, climbing 4.2% in October after carving higher lows in the final weeks. A handful of smaller tokens, including ZEC, XMR, and WBTC, also finished the month higher.

While the “Uptober” legend endures, October’s red finish underscores that seasonal trends are tendencies, not guarantees. On CoinGlass’s Bitcoin Monthly Returns heat map, the once all-green October column has turned red for the first time in seven years — a symbolic reset for traders who had come to rely on history more than tape confirmation.

Different data sources show minor variations due to reporting windows, but the story remains the same: Bitcoin’s 2025 “Uptober” turned into a Red October.

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