Bitcoin’s modest gains trail Nasdaq and gold

As September draws to a close questions arise about what lies behind Bitcoin’s uninspiring performance this month.

Bitcoin is currently up about 4.3% for the month trading at $112,950 at the time of writing having recovered a large portion of its 6.5% drop in August. It hasn’t been a bad month per se for the ‘King of Crypto’.

However by its standards it’s significantly less than the double-digit gains recorded in April and May. Currently it’s only keeping pace with the Nasdaq 100 which is up by a similar percentage but lagging behind gold which has gained 8.77% month-to-date.

Both gold and the Nasdaq are markets that Bitcoin is correlated with at various times owing to Bitcoin’s dual personality as a risk asset when the market is bullish and a digital safe haven when market sentiment turns bearish. Interestingly we are in a period where both the Nasdaq and gold are performing well and Bitcoin might be expected to do better.

There are several theories that may offer insights into Bitcoin’s underperformance two of which are outlined below.

Factors influencing Bitcoin’s performance
Sector news scarcity 

Gains in cryptocurrency are driven by various factors including positive news specific to the sector such as the emergence of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and favourable cryptocurrency regulation which often leads to new highs and attracts media and public attention. Since ‘Crypto Week’ in mid-July there has been a lack of fresh sector-specific news leading to fewer record highs diminished media attention and a decline in fresh buying.

This in turn has resulted in some profit-taking which triggered a move lower in prices and then the liquidation of weak long positions who were drawn into the space after Bitcoin’s latest rally commenced in early July.

Consolidation periods and technical adjustments

The second theory is that during Bitcoin’s explosive run higher from the start of 2024 to the $124,517 record high in August 2025 it experienced several periods of consolidation in between. Some of these consolidations lasted weeks others many months.

During this time Bitcoin has worked off overbought readings and rebuilt energy and it seems it’s doing exactly that again now.