- Bitcoin price eyes a fresh rally toward the $120,000 mark.
- A partial U.S. government shutdown pushed BTC above the key $117,000 level.
- Flight-to-safety flows and rising market bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts may fuel bullish momentum.
Bitcoin climbed more than 3% as the U.S. federal government entered a partial shutdown on Wednesday, with BTC breaking above $117,000 for the first time in weeks.
Alongside gains in traditional safe-haven assets such as gold, investors seeking an alternative hedge amid political and economic uncertainty poured into Bitcoin.
Those gains leave the flagship crypto poised for another push toward the $120,000 level.
Bitcoin jumps above $117k amid a 3% intraday surge
Bitcoin’s price rose sharply in early trading on Wednesday, breaking the $117,000 mark for the first time since mid-September.
Fueled by a roughly 3% intraday advance, BTC topped $117,400 as the rally also lifted major altcoins including Ethereum and Solana.
Bitcoin price chart by CoinMarketCap
While steady institutional inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs and corporate treasury moves have provided ongoing support amid broader market nerves, the latest gains align with renewed flows into safe-haven assets.
Shutdown reaction acts as catalyst
Technical resilience and prevailing market conditions lead analysts to expect further traction for BTC’s price.
Notably, the recent gains leave Bitcoin only about 6% below its all-time high of $124,457 reached on August 14, 2025.
A primary catalyst for the rally appears to be markets’ reaction to the U.S. government shutdown.
On September 30, Congressional leaders and U.S. President Donald Trump failed to reach an agreement to maintain government funding.
With the deadline passed, a partial shutdown began, causing equities to sell off while gold surged to a new record high.
The flight-to-safety dynamic, together with a sharp decline in the U.S. dollar index, helped propel gold higher.
Bitcoin, increasingly viewed by some investors as a digital safe-haven, also climbed and could target the psychological $120k level.
As investors react to the shutdown and potential delays to key economic data releases—including the September jobs report—BTC may reap benefits from the shifting risk landscape.
Gold’s rally pushed spot prices above $3,890 per ounce, and Bitcoin’s own advance could accelerate as markets digest the shutdown’s implications.
🚨 GOLD JUST HIT NEW ATH
Liquidity will migrate into $BTC now
History of 2021 and 2017 is repeating
Get ready for PARABOLIC pump pic.twitter.com/i3zGvFllWO
— ᴛʀᴀᴄᴇʀ (@DeFiTracer) October 1, 2025
What else could boost Bitcoin’s price?
Private payroll data from ADP showed a loss of 32,000 jobs in September, reinforcing expectations for Federal Reserve easing.
The U.S. central bank cut its policy rate in September, and markets are pricing in another possible cut on October 29, which has excited investors.
Lower rates have often supported risk assets, and momentum indicators for October—sometimes dubbed “Uptober”—remain encouraging after Bitcoin posted gains in 10 of the last 12 Octobers.