# Is Bitcoin’s Long Winter Finally Thawing?

> Bitcoin trades near $83,000 as bullish calls return, BlackRock joins NYC’s treasury conference and Saylor’s Strategy adds another 1,665 BTC.

By Lidia Yadlos · September 28, 2026

Canonical: https://blockster.com/is-bitcoins-long-winter-finally-thawing

Nearly a year after last October’s crash, Bitcoin’s bulls are finding their voice again.

Bitcoin traded around **$83,336 on Monday morning, September 28**, down approximately 1.5% from its previous close. The daily pullback follows a September rally that recently carried it above $87,000, its highest level since January.

The immediate market is cooling, but the bigger conversation is warming up: could this be the beginning of another bull market?

That question arrives as investors gather at New York’s Bitcoin Treasuries Conference, BlackRock’s Bitcoin outlook takes a prominent place on the agenda, and Michael Saylor’s Strategy reports another purchase.

[Post from @Bitcoin on X](https://twitter.com/Bitcoin/status/2104553061838405991?s=20)

## The Bull Case Returns to X

Fidelity’s director of global macro, Jurrien Timmer, offered one of the clearest expressions of renewed optimism in a September 18 X post:

> “I’m sensing that a new 4-year cycle bull market is underway.”

Timmer pointed to Bitcoin’s performance against gold, highlighting a statistical measure that had turned positive after an extended negative stretch—a pattern he associated with previous market bottoms. His assessment is a bullish interpretation of the data, rather than a declaration that the risks have disappeared.

Even some previously bearish voices have reconsidered. On September 21, analyst Benjamin Cowen [posted on X](https://x.com/benjamincowen/status/2102007452057079986):

> “I was wrong
> Not going to make excuses
> I deserve to be dunked on”

Cowen had expected a later bottom. Bitcoin’s rebound forced a reassessment. Saylor’s [reply](https://x.com/saylor/status/2102011709808353551) was characteristically brief:

> “Welcome ₿ack.”

The shift extends beyond social media. In a September 23 research note, [The DeFi Report’s Michael Nadeau](https://thedefireport.io/research/early-bull-confirmed) said his conviction was building that crypto had entered the early bull phase, citing Bitcoin’s recovery and its ability to turn former resistance levels into support.

## BlackRock and the Treasury Conversation Come to New York

Today’s [Bitcoin Treasuries Conference](https://bitcointreasuries.net/conference/agenda), held at SECOND in Manhattan, brings that debate into the institutional world.

BlackRock’s Robert Mitchnick is scheduled to join British HODL for a discussion of the firm’s Bitcoin outlook. Other scheduled speakers include Strive’s Matt Cole, Ric Edelman, VanEck’s Matt Sigel, investor Jordi Visser and Bloomberg Intelligence’s Eric Balchunas.

The agenda offers a useful picture of where the treasury movement is heading: institutional adoption, Bitcoin-backed lending, corporate balance sheets and the relationship between treasury companies and ETFs. There are also sessions on security and shareholder interests.

The underlying question is becoming more demanding. Buying Bitcoin gets a company into the conversation. Managing financing, liquidity and shareholder value through a difficult market determines whether its strategy lasts.

[Post from @BitcoinNewsCom on X](https://twitter.com/BitcoinNewsCom/status/2104563785784578065?s=20)

## Saylor’s Strategy Adds More Bitcoin

[Strategy’s latest disclosure](https://www.strategy.com/ledger) gives the discussion a concrete number: another **1,665 BTC**, acquired at an average price of **$85,681**, for approximately **$143 million**.

The purchase brings its reported holdings to **847,666 BTC**, with an aggregate average acquisition price of $75,437 per coin. For the company co-founded by executive chairman Michael Saylor, it is another substantial commitment to Bitcoin as the market recovers.

A corporate purchase cannot establish a bull market on its own. It does, however, show capital being committed alongside the increasingly optimistic commentary.

## What Last October Left Behind

The recovery still carries the memory of **October 10–11, 2025**, when more than $19 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated. The selloff followed President Donald Trump’s announcement of additional tariffs on China and threats of export controls, with thin liquidity magnifying the damage.

Binance became part of that episode when USDe, BNSOL and WBETH suffered depegging problems on its platform. The exchange announced compensation for affected collateral users and subsequently said it had distributed approximately $283 million. Binance disputed claims that those depegs caused the broader crash, saying the market’s sharpest decline came first.

[Post from @saylor on X](https://twitter.com/saylor/status/2104175752342098125?s=20)

Almost a year later, Bitcoin has recovered enough to challenge some of the market’s most persistent bearish assumptions. Analysts are reconsidering their calls, Strategy is buying, and institutional investors are gathering to discuss what comes next.