Best crypto to watch in October 2026

Crypto has a nickname for October: ‘Uptober’. Bitcoin (BTC) has finished October higher in 10 of the last 13 years, with an average gain of almost 20%. Last year broke a six-year run of October gains.

This year's version is a little more unusual. BTC rose about 25% in August and roughly 7% in September, the first back-to-back gains for those two months. Yet, it still trades about a third below its October 2025 high of $126,198. 

Solana (SOL) has doubled from its June low, Chainlink (LINK) has climbed more than 20% since the start of September and XRP sits 58% under its peak. 

The calendar sees a possible Fed hike on October 28, a first public test of Ethereum's (ETH) next upgrade on October 6 and an XRP upgrade event.

1. Bitcoin (BTC)

BTC traded in the $83,000 to $84,000 range to end September, after nearing an eight-month high of $87,000 on September 21. US spot BTC ETFs took in $2.4 billion in the week to September 25, their largest weekly haul since October 2025. 

That turned their 2026 flows positive, at roughly $934 million, after a $5.8 billion deficit as recently as July 13. Daily inflows did fade through the week, from $999 million on Monday to $134 million on Friday; BTC’s price has stayed pinned beneath the $84,000 to $85,000 zone where many long-term holders bought their tokens.

The October 28 Fed decision is the main test. The central bank raised rates 25 basis points to 3.75% to 4.00% on September 16, its first hike since 2023. 16 of 18 officials projected at least one more this year. 

Projections of a second hike on October 28 have climbed to above 70%, up from 64% a week earlier, after Fed Governor Michael Barr said policymakers still "have more work to do" and a hotter inflation reading arrived.

Three data releases come first: the September jobs report on October 2, minutes of the September Fed meeting on October 7 and September CPI on October 14, after August's 3.4% headline and 2.4% core readings. 

With the 10-year Treasury yield above 5%, these calendar events would arrive on an already interest-sensitive market atmosphere.

2. Ether (ETH)

ETH ended September around $2,650 to $2,700 and is on pace for its best September since 2016, with a gain of about 7%. 

It has also held its ground against BTC for three straight months, reviving talks of a ‘flippening’.

ETH ETFs drew $689.9 million in the week to September 25, per SoSoValue, after losing $140 million the week before. 

It’s up about $1.6 billion for the year. The token is still more than 45% below its October 2025 peak near $4,946.

The date to watch is October 6, when Glamsterdam goes live on Sepolia, the first public test network for what is widely described as Ethereum's biggest upgrade since The Merge. It would lift how much activity each block can carry and rework how blocks are built. 

A second test, on Hoodi, is tentatively set for October 27, depending on how Sepolia goes. Neither has a mainnet date attached: developers are targeting the fourth quarter, with no day set.

Separately, Bitmine's ETH treasury is closing in on six million tokens, roughly 5% of total supply, after another 27,562-ETH purchase

3. XRP

XRP traded around $1.48 to $1.55 at the tail end of September, peaking at $1.64 on September 23. But it’s still more than 50% below its $3.65 peak. 

Two events land back to back at the end of September. The XRP Ledger's Batch V1.1 upgrade was originally scheduled to activate on September 29, a feature targeting institutional settlement. The timeline has slipped to October at the time of writing, if validator support holds.

A separate permission-delegation upgrade could land as early as October 8.

On September 30, shareholders of the shell company merging with Evernorth would take to a vote. If the deal passes and Nasdaq's conditions are met, Evernorth would list as XRPN with at least 473 million XRP on its balance sheet. 

The model is untested: Decrypt reported that Evernorth spent about $947 million on XRP in October 2025 and, by February, held a stash worth roughly $446 million less than it paid.

Institutions have kept buying in the meantime. US spot XRP ETFs took in $75.6 million in the week to September 25, per SoSoValue, their 11th straight weekly inflow, lifting cumulative inflows to about $1.79 billion. 

Washington offers less. The CLARITY Act failed 49–50 in the Senate on September 15, which leaves the SEC's proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, open for public comment until October 20, as the main regulatory track. 

4. Solana (SOL)

SOL has been the strongest mover of the five: around $120 after its first trade above that level since January 29, more than double its June low of $60.39. 

ETFs have followed. Solana funds drew $188.2 million in the week to September 25, their second-best week since launch. Combined assets hit a record of about $1.5 billion, SoSoValue data show.

The upgrade to watch is Alpenglow, which replaces how validators agree on each block and targets finality of about 150 milliseconds, down from roughly 12.8 seconds. It went live on Solana's testnet and devnet during the final stretch of September.

Mainnet is the open question. Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko responded to speculation of an imminent launch with a single word: "decel". Anza has not confirmed a mainnet date and the target points to late 2026 or early 2027. The 150-millisecond figure remains a target so far seen only on test networks.

5. Chainlink (LINK)

Chainlink is up more than 20% since the start of September to around $14, though still roughly 74% below its 2021 high. 

The reason is a run of banking deals and a fresh protocol release. On September 22, Infosys said it would standardise on six Chainlink services across its banking and payments work, including its Finacle platform, which supports more than 1.7 billion accounts. 

Earlier in September, Bottomline linked Chainlink's cross-chain protocol to its payments product for more than 600 banks handling over $16 trillion a year, letting them settle cross-border payments on-chain while still sending standard Swift messages. 

Circle's Arc blockchain, which launched on September 16, also uses Chainlink as its official oracle and cross-chain provider.

Chainlink released CCIP 2.0 on September 28, adding optional Cross-Chain Verifiers that institutions can run themselves or through providers.

How to buy crypto on Crypto.com

Building your portfolio with 'blue chip' crypto is straightforward through the Crypto.com App. You'll enjoy a secure and user-friendly platform to acquire over 400 different cryptocurrencies.

Follow these steps to get started:

1. Download the Crypto.com App, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
2. Complete the sign-up process and identity verification. On-screen prompts are at hand to guide.
3. Funds deposited using bank transfers will usually clear within one to three business days. For faster access, you can also fund your account using Apple Pay or a prepaid/credit card. Please note that processing times and availability may vary depending on card issuer and other factors.
4. Once the funds are cleared, you can start buying altcoins and other supported crypto and manage them conveniently from one place.

Important information: This informational content is written by Crypto.com and should not be considered as an investment recommendation or advice. Trading cryptocurrencies carries risks, such as price volatility and market risks. Before deciding to trade cryptocurrencies, consider your risk appetite. All forecasting methods, scenarios, and examples are illustrative and subject to market uncertainty.

Past performance offers context but does not ensure future results. Investment outcomes are subject to market volatility, economic changes, and other unpredictable variables.