MOSCOW, Russia / CryptoWire.AI / – Bitcoin fell 7.32% in October, its biggest drop for the month in 12 years, according to CoinGlass data. The last time the cryptocurrency posted a larger October decline was in 2014, when it lost 12.57%. The result broke with a long pattern of strong gains in a month traders often call “Uptober”. October has traditionally been one of the best months for crypto assets.
Bitcoin has ended October lower only a few times. It fell 4.65% in October 2018 and 3.95% in October 2025, according to the CoinGlass figures. In the other years covered by the data, the month brought gains. Russian business outlet RBC noted that Bitcoin closed October higher in 11 of 16 years between 2010 and 2025. The median October gain over that period was 10.9%. The 2014 decline came during a prolonged bear market.
This year has been difficult for the largest cryptocurrency. Bitcoin also posted monthly losses in January, when it fell 10.16%, and in February, when it dropped 14.79%. It lost 3.57% in May and 20.41% in June, its worst month of the year so far. October added to that run after an early October sell-off and a brief rebound later in the month. Mass liquidations of margin positions added to the pressure.
Ether records sharpest October fall since 2016
Ethereum lost 16.06% in October, its largest decline for the month since 2016, when it fell 16.84%. Ether also ended October lower in 2018, 2024 and 2025, with losses of 15.23%, 3.35% and 7.21%. Almost all major cryptocurrencies declined during the month. As of 8:30 a.m. Moscow time on November 3, Bitcoin traded at $76,615 on Binance, down 2.18%. Ether was down 2% at $2,247.
The month ended with a major breach at Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. Binance disclosed the attack on October 29 and put the preliminary damage at about $6.3 billion. Security experts have described it as possibly the largest cryptocurrency theft on record. The exchange temporarily suspended withdrawals after the incident. It has since reopened them in stages and pledged to cover all user losses. Bitcoin briefly fell to a six-week low of about $77,600 in the aftermath.
North Korea rejects US hacking claims
Binance’s preliminary findings suggested the attackers may have entered its systems through an infected laptop belonging to one of its engineers. That access allowed unauthorised withdrawals of cryptocurrency. The exchange later said it had found additional points of entry into its systems. The investigation is continuing, and Binance has promised to publish a detailed report once it is complete. Around $3 billion of the stolen assets have been frozen, according to the exchange.
The FBI has said North Korea stole more than $6 billion in assets from Binance. It attributed the theft to the North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor. Pyongyang rejected the allegations in a statement carried by state news agency KCNA. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, called the U.S. claims absurd rhetoric. She warned that North Korea would reconsider unspecified issues in response.