Bitcoin gained around 8% in September, outperforming the largely unchanged S&P 500 and gold, which fell more than 6%, according to Santiment. Several altcoins also recovered as investor interest returned. Fresh capital flowed into US-listed spot BTC ETFs, including several large inflow days late in the month, while Strategy added 1,665 BTC and Strive bought 1,107 BTC for $94.5 million. August US inflation came in below expectations, easing pressure on Treasury yields and concerns about another Federal Reserve rate hike. Santiment identified continued ETF demand, corporate accumulation, improving regulatory clarity and renewed altcoin participation as potential fourth-quarter growth drivers, while warning that higher yields and crowded leverage could still trigger sharp pullbacks. Bitcoin remains just below $86,000, with Crypto Patel identifying that level as a possible pivot: a sustained break above it could reopen a path toward $100,000, while $82,886, $80,300 and $76,400 are support levels if it fails. BIT Research said the bear market has likely ended and forecast an upside range of $185,000 to $215,000. Wallets holding 10 to 10,000 BTC accumulated 41,025 coins in 10 days, lifting their holdings to 13.64 million. Bitcoin's MVRV Z-Score, a market-valuation indicator, remained above its 365-day moving average, a level that has historically supported broader rallies. CryptoQuant said a sustained hold above that average would keep the longer-term valuation trend supportive, while a break below it could indicate structural weakening.