Bitcoin's best Q3 since 2017 · Amazon's $8bn chip plan — Fri 2 Oct

Good morning!

Bitcoin closed its best third quarter since 2017, up 43%, and Citi has raised its 12-month target to $113,000. Today's edition is about prices and outlooks, and we treat them as news: who says what, and on what basis, never what you should do with your money.

Some stories in Kaupr Daily:

💎 Bitcoin ETFs take in $6.3 billion in their best quarter of 2026
💎 Altcoin volume runs at four times bitcoin's, and Glassnode sounds a warning
💎 Stacks jumps as Muneeb Ali returns as CEO
💎 Evernorth heads for Nasdaq as the largest XRP treasury company
💎 Amazon seeks investors for $8 billion of Nvidia chips

— Morten

Bitcoin rose 43% in the third quarter, helped mainly by optimism over US regulation as SEC moves let markets look past the failed Clarity Act, Investing.com reports. On Thursday it edged up 0.9% to about $84,500 as US Treasuries rallied. Ether gained around 70% in the quarter. Friday's US jobs report is next.

Why it matters: Rising bond yields remain the main headwind, and the jobs data will shape expectations for the Fed's next move.

Source: Bitcoin reverses course, inches up to kick off Q4 as U.S. Treasury bonds rally — Investing.com

US spot bitcoin ETFs drew about $6.34 billion in the third quarter, reversing roughly $5 billion of outflows in the second, SoSoValue data show. September brought $2.65 billion, down from $3.52 billion in August. Wednesday's $149 million outflow ended a nine-day inflow streak. Ether ETFs added $3.05 billion over the quarter.

Why it matters: The quarter reversed the second quarter's outflows and put ETF demand back behind bitcoin's rally.

Source: Bitcoin ETFs draw $6.3B in Q3 as BTC price rises nearly 43% — Cointelegraph

Bitcoin closed July, August and September in the green for the first time, gaining 42.71% in Q3, the second-best third quarter after 2017. The year is still about 4% negative: the first hurdle is the $87,498 opening price. History favours October and Q4, but BeInCrypto notes four cases make a small sample.

Why it matters: Before this year, every green August since 2013 was followed by a red September. This quarter broke one of bitcoin's most consistent seasonal patterns.

Source: Bitcoin Just Broke a 13-Year Pattern. What's Next? — BeInCrypto

Citigroup has raised its 12-month bitcoin forecast to $113,000 from $82,000, and its ether target to $3,028 from $2,240, citing resumed ETF inflows and supportive macro conditions. Citi expects $5 billion of "slower but stickier" inflows over the next year. It warns that a 2028 change of administration could roll back SEC rules.

Why it matters: Citi sees SEC rulemaking as a substitute for the failed Clarity Act for now, but rules set by agencies can be reversed more easily than legislation.

Source: Citigroup raises 12-month bitcoin target to $113,000 as ETF inflows resume — CoinDesk

Bitcoin's share of the crypto market has slipped below 59%, and Glassnode data show altcoin spot volume running at nearly four times bitcoin's, the highest since September 2025. Through 23 September, 72.5% of tracked altcoins had outperformed bitcoin. Glassnode adds that such appetite for risk has often coincided with local tops.

Why it matters: Money is rotating into riskier coins, a shift Glassnode has often seen near short-term peaks.

Source: Altcoin Season Rally Begins as Bitcoin Dominance Drops Below 59% — Coinpedia

NIGHT, the token of Midnight, a privacy-focused blockchain linked to Cardano, has risen eight straight days and gained 86% in a week, while most of the market, including Zcash, Monero and Cardano, fell. Midnight is about to enable smart contracts; CTO Sebastien Guillemot says private contracts come first, with composability possibly this year.

Why it matters: The rally is tied to a concrete technical milestone rather than to the wider market, which was falling at the same time.

Source: Cardano Midnight (NIGHT) Rallies 86% as CTO Unveils Upcoming Upgrade — U.Today

Stacks (STX) rose more than 20% in a day to about $0.38 after co-founder Muneeb Ali was named CEO of Stacks Labs. Institutions such as 21Shares have bonded about 230 BTC to earn bitcoin yield on Stacks, and a 500 BTC round opens on 10 October. Anchorage Digital is building custody support.

Why it matters: Stacks lets institutions earn yield on bitcoin that stays on Bitcoin's own chain, and every new bond requires STX, tying demand for the token to institutional use.

Source: Why is Stacks price up 20% as Muneeb Ali becomes CEO? — crypto.news

Shareholders have approved Evernorth's merger with Armada Acquisition Corp. II, and trading under the ticker XRPN is expected to start on 8 October. The company expects to hold about 473 million XRP, which it says would make it the largest listed pure-play XRP treasury. Backers include Ripple, Pantera Capital, Kraken and SBI Group.

Why it matters: Evernorth brings the treasury model Strategy pioneered with bitcoin to XRP, giving stock-market investors a listed way to hold the token.

Source: Evernorth Clears Final Hurdle for Nasdaq Listing as Largest Pure-Play XRP Treasury — PrimeXBT

Amazon is seeking to move about $8 billion of Nvidia Grace Blackwell chips into a special purpose vehicle and lease them back, the Financial Times reports. Outside investors would fund the vehicle through debt, and up to 10% equity could be offered. Amazon plans over $200 billion in capital spending this year.

Why it matters: Chips are becoming an asset that outside investors own and lend against, letting cloud giants build without carrying the full cost on their own balance sheets.

Source: Amazon seeks to offload $8 bln of Nvidia chips to investors- FT — Investing.com

Kaupr and Virtune go live online on Wednesday 7 October, 11:00–12:30 CET. Virtune's CEO and co-founder Christopher Kock and Chief Sales Officer Andreas Severin discuss what is driving tokenization, which platforms the financial industry is building on, and how investors can gain exposure through regulated ETPs. Moderated by Morten Myrstad.

It is the first event in Kaupr Events, our new home for live events, curated picks from the Nordics and Baltics, and recordings of what you missed.

👉 Register for the event → · Read about Kaupr Events →

Wishing you a great Wednesday — and welcome back tomorrow morning for the next edition of Kaupr Today.

Best regards
Morten Myrstad
Founder & Editor