According to CoinGlass data, Bitcoin is on its way to achieving its second strongest third-quarter performance in history, marking a significant turnaround after a difficult first half of 2026.
According to CoinGlass, from July to September, this world's largest cryptocurrency saw a cumulative increase of about 43.5% during that quarter. This will make the third quarter of 2026 the second best-performing quarter in the platform's dataset, second only to the 80.41% surge recorded in 2017.
According to CoinGecko data, the current trading price of Bitcoin is approximately $84,800.
The performance of this quarter even slightly surpassed that of 2013, when Bitcoin rose by 40.6% in the third quarter.
This represents a clear reversal for Bitcoin. According to the data from the CoinGlass table, the cryptocurrency fell by 22.2% in the first quarter and another 14.09% in the second quarter. Therefore, if the third quarter sees a gain of around 43.5%, it will put an end to the downward trend that has persisted for two consecutive quarters.
The third quarter is usually relatively quiet.
Historically, the performance in the third quarter tends to be much weaker.
Data provided by CoinGlass shows that Bitcoin's average return rate in the third quarter was only 8.73%, with a median return of just 2.29%. Among the 14 third quarters displayed in the table, 8 quarters recorded positive returns.
This also makes the increase of about 43.5% in 2026 particularly prominent.
Only in the third quarter of 2017 was there a better performance with a gain of 80.41%. The return in 2026 is currently about 3 percentage points higher than the 40.6% gain in the third quarter of 2013.
In most other quarters that recorded positive returns, the increases were much more modest. Bitcoin rose by 25.01% in the third quarter of 2021, 17.97% in 2020, 6.31% in 2025, and the increase in 2024 was less than 1%.
There were also several significant declines in the third quarter. Bitcoin fell by 39.74% in the third quarter of 2014 and by 22.86% in 2019. In the more recent third quarter of 2023, its decline was 11.54%.
Outstanding performance in the fourth quarter
Bitcoin's historical data for the fourth quarter is much more impressive.
CoinGlass Data shows that the average return rate in the fourth quarter was 77.07%, leading significantly among the four quarters. Unlike the first quarter, the median return in the fourth quarter was also exceptionally strong, reaching 47.73%.
Of the 13 quarters that have been completed as listed in the table, Bitcoin closed in an upward range for 8 of those quarters.
Some of the most dramatic rises in Bitcoin have occurred in the last three months of each year. In the fourth quarter of 2013, Bitcoin soared by 479.59%; in 2017, it rose by 215.07%; in 2020, it increased by 168.02%. Additionally, in 2015, it rose by 81.24%, and in 2016, it increased by 58.17%.
However, there is no guarantee of an increase in the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2018, Bitcoin fell by 42.16%; in the fourth quarter of 2025, it closed down 23.07%. Additionally, the fourth quarters of 2014, 2019, and 2022 also saw declines.
