Crypto Markets came together on the third day as investors digested macro uncertainty and tensions in the Middle East.
The cryptocurrency market extended its rally for the third day in a row, Friday, October 3rd, despite US government shutdowns and ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Bitcoin (BTC) rose to around $124,000. It was the highest level since mid-August, and its all-time high, at around $124,128, an almost 3% increase that day.
“The highest ever high for Bitcoin ever hasn’t been about speculation, it’s about portfolio construction,” Botanics Lab CEO Willem Schloe said in a comment she shared with the rebels. “ETF inflows, Corporate Treasury allocation and structural supply cuts have strengthened the scarcity of Bitcoin.”
He added that as global capital adapts to rate cuts and weaknesses in the dollar, investors “rely rely on not only as a hedge, but also as a new form of yield that stems from rarity, utility and institutional scale.”
Other major digital assets also rose: Ethereum (ETH) rose 2% to $4,545, Solana (SOL) rose 2% to $232, while XRP added 2% to $3.09 before pulling back to $3.03. Binance Coin (BNB) led the top 10, jumping to 8% to $1,139.
Outside of the top 10, the top three winners in the last 24 hours are up 12.7%, up $0.79. Story (IP) rose 11% to $10.12. ZCASH (ZEC) climbs another 8% for $141.31. ZEC has recorded a 172% increase over the past week, reflecting growing interest in privacy-focused projects.
The biggest losers of the top 100 include doublezero (2z) with a 27% reduction. Myx Finance (MYX) fell 16.2% to $8.47. and Plasma (XPL), down 8% to $0.85.
Crypto’s total market capitalization reached $4.2 trillion, up 2% per day, with Bitcoin dominance of 56.7% and Ethereum at 12.7%.
Liquidation and ETF inflow
Nearly $555 million in crypto jobs have been liquidated in the last 24 hours, according to Coinglass data. Longs accounted for $107 million and short positions accounted for more than $358 million.
The Spot Bitcoin ETF attracted nearly $627 million inflows on Thursday, while the Ethereum ETF attracted more than $307 million.
According to Sosovalue, the total weekly inflows reached $2.2 billion in Bitcoin and $1.06 billion in Ethereum, marking its biggest weekly profit since August.
Shutdown and geopolitical tensions
Even as crypto prices rise, the US government shutdown creates uncertainty as the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Employment Report (BLS) is expected today.
BLS, along with many other government agencies, is currently on hiatus while the shutdown continues. This delay has left both policymakers and traders with no new data on job, unemployment and wage growth.
This suspension is also a key moment for the Federal Reserve, as it weighs on the next move in interest rates. Last month, the Fed reduced its benchmark rate by 25 basis points at its September 17 meeting.
As President Donald Trump works to mediate transactions between Israel and Hamas, this all comes from the backdrop of ongoing geopolitical tensions that have rattled the market for months. On Friday, the president warned of “all hell” if Hamas set a Sunday deadline to embrace Gaza’s US peace plan and agreed.
The plan calls for an immediate ceasefire, release of 20 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of others within 72 hours in exchange for hundreds of detained Gazaans.