Bitcoin breaks October streak with first monthly loss since 2018

By Hannah Lang

(Reuters) -Bitcoin on Friday was on track for a monthly loss in October for the first time since 2018, snapping a seven-year streak of gains that had earned the month a lucky reputation among cryptocurrency traders. 

Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, is set for a nearly 5% decline this month, as the digital asset has struggled in recent weeks amid broader market jitters and muted investor risk appetite. 

Cryptocurrencies "came into October, tracking gold, tracking stocks near all-time highs, and then as uncertainty hit people for the first time maybe this year, they didn't rotate back into bitcoin en masse," said Adam McCarthy, a senior research analyst at digital market data provider Kaiko.

October saw the largest crypto liquidation in history after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 100% tariff on Chinese imports and threatened export controls on critical software.

Bitcoin fell as low as $104,782.88 during the October 10-11 period, after setting a fresh record high just days earlier above $126,000. 

"That washout on the 10th, it really reminded people that this asset class is very narrow," said McCarthy. "It's bitcoin and (ether), and even those can still have 10% drawdowns in 15, 20 minutes."

A whirlwind October is set to end with spooked investors unsure of the global monetary policy path in the near term, as the U.S. Federal Reserve pushed back against market bets that it would continue to cut rates this year as the government shutdown blocks crucial economic data.

Meanwhile, several influential figures have expressed concerns about high valuations in equity markets. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon earlier this month warned of a heightened risk of a significant correction in the U.S. stock market within the next six months to two years.

"Participants remain hesitant as they process what has become the largest liquidation event on record. This caution persists amid ongoing speculation about specific vulnerabilities that may still exist in the system," said Jake Ostrovskis, head of trading firm Wintermute's over-the-counter desk. 

Despite its October decline, bitcoin is still up more than 16% so far this year. 

Cryptocurrencies have generally enjoyed a boost this year as Trump has embraced digital assets, which has led to the dismissal of a spate of lawsuits against prominent crypto platforms and a shift by Trump's financial regulators to create specialized rules to accommodate digital assets.

(Reporting by Hannah Lang in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Chizu Nomiyama )