Bitcoin rebounds above $123,000 as miners rally
Bitcoin climbed back above $123,000 on Wednesday after a sharp drop the previous day, with crypto miners leading gains amid AI optimism. Analysts suggest bitcoin could reach $644,000 if it captures part of gold's market amid the ongoing gold rally. Federal Reserve minutes indicated potential interest rate cuts later this year.
Bitcoin (BTC) regained ground on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, bouncing from a flush to $120,000 on Tuesday. The cryptocurrency traded at $123,118.80 earlier and reached nearly $124,000, settling around $123,500, up 1.5% over the past 24 hours.
Altcoins saw modest increases but did not recover earlier weekly levels. Ethereum (ETH) traded at $4,518.18, Ripple’s XRP at $2.8710, Solana (SOL) at $228.24, Dogecoin (DOGE) at $0.2316, and Avalanche (AVAX) at $28.81, each gaining between 1% and 3%. The CoinDesk 20 Index, tracking major digital assets, rose 2%.
Crypto mining stocks outperformed, driven by optimism over artificial intelligence demand for computing power. Cipher Mining (CIFR) and Bitfarms (BITF) surged 11%-12%, while CleanSpark (CLSK) and Hut 8 (HUT) added about 6%.
Minutes from the September Federal Reserve meeting, released Wednesday, showed most officials anticipate interest rate cuts later in 2025. However, some argued against a September cut, and the majority highlighted upside risks to inflation.
Gold continued to dominate the 'debasement trade,' surpassing $4,000 and up 50% year-to-date, fueled by government deficits, unstable bond markets, and expectations of looser policy. Japanese yields reached 17-year highs, boosting gold as a safe haven at risk assets' expense.
Charlie Morris, chief investment officer at ByteTree, noted, 'The market is hot, but it’s not red hot.' He added, 'If deficits, money printing, instability and rate cuts are driving the gold price higher, perhaps those things need to change before we turn bearish.' Morris predicted, 'Gold will make an intermediate peak at some point, but it’s best not to guess when that is and wait for evidence.' He suggested bitcoin could benefit next: 'When gold starts to cool, the chances are that bitcoin will get going again.'
Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, reiterated in a Tuesday X post that bitcoin could capture half of gold's market size as 'digital gold' for younger generations. With recent gold gains, this implies a $644,000 per BTC price.