Bitcoin traded at $83,895 at the end of September after gaining 43% since the start of July, its best third-quarter performance since 2017 and strongest quarter of any kind since late 2024. The advance followed two consecutive quarterly declines and outpaced Bitcoin's typically weak third-quarter record, although Ether, Solana and Chainlink posted larger gains during the period. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs drew about $2.4 billion in the week ending Sept. 25, while Michael Saylor's Strategy resumed purchases after a 10-week pause and added about 7,200 BTC since late August. Regulatory developments, including the SEC's Innovation Exemption for qualifying platforms trading tokenized U.S. stocks onchain and a CFTC crypto-market proposal under White House review, also supported sentiment. Bitcoin reached an eight-month high near $87,400 in September before retreating as the 10-year Treasury yield rose above 5.2% and the Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Sept. 16 for the first time since 2023. CryptoQuant had separately identified Bitcoin's move above its 365-day moving average as a return-to-bull-market signal, while Bitfinex said further gains require stronger spot-market demand as ETF inflows slow.