Summary of this article
Bitcoin ends October’s seven-year winning streak amid market uncertainty.
Over $19 billion in crypto assets liquidated within hours.
Ethereum also declined during the month.
October, often called Uptober by crypto enthusiasts for its history of gains, took a different turn this year. Bitcoin slipped during the month as market uncertainty and large-scale liquidations dampened investor sentiment.
Bitcoin recorded a loss in October 2025, breaking its seven-year winning streak for the month.
This is the first October since 2018 to end in decline, with the cryptocurrency falling by more than 5 per cent amid broader market jitters and weaker investor sentiment. The decline came even after Bitcoin touched a new all-time high of $126,198.07 earlier in the month, before retreating nearly 12.54 per cent from that level.
Bitcoin prices fell sharply during the month, dropping to around $104,782.88 on October 10–11, 2025, and later hitting a monthly low of $103,598.43 on October 17, according to CoinMarketCap. This came a few days after the cryptocurrency reached a new all-time high.
Nearly $19 billion worth of crypto assets were liquidated within a few hours in October 2025, after US President Donald Trump announced a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese imports and hinted at export controls on critical software technologies.
Adam McCarthy, senior research analyst at digital market data provider Kaiko, told Reuters that cryptocurrencies entered October tracking gold and stocks near record highs. However, as uncertainty hit the markets, investors did not rotate back into Bitcoin in large numbers.
He said the sharp correction around October 10 served as a reminder of how narrow and volatile the asset class remains, with even major tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum witnessing double-digit declines within minutes.
Despite the October decline, Bitcoin remains up over 16 per cent for the year. According to CoinMarketCap, the cryptocurrency was trading at $110,430.83 on November 2, up 0.33 percent in the previous 24 hours and with a trading volume of $27.13 billion.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, also recorded a decline of more than 10 per cent in October, according to CoinMarketCap. It fell to as low as $3,460.22 from its all-time high of $4,953.73, which it had reached in August, reflecting similar weakness across major digital assets. As of November 2, Ethereum was trading at $3,895.35, reflecting a modest recovery in early November.
