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Crypto in September: average return and history by year

September has been a positive month for crypto on average: across the 18 largest coins, the typical coin in the average September since 2019 returned +0.4%, and the market closed September higher in 4 of 8 years. Pick the coins you care about to see the year-by-year record, or hover any bar and cell for the detail.

What stands out

  • September ranks 9th of the 12 months by average return (+0.4%). That is in the middle of the pack.
  • One year carries a lot of this: take out September 2026 and the average falls from +0.4% to −3.0%.
  • Bitcoin alone closed September higher in 4 of 8 years, averaging −1.0%; its best was 2024 (+7.4%) and its worst 2019 (−14%).
  • The spread between years is wide: September 2026 was the best year (the median coin returned +24%) and September 2020 the worst (−18%).
  • Avalanche has done best in September (median +25%, up in 4 of 6 years) and Ethereum worst (median −2.0%, up in 4 of 8).
  • September is known as “Rektember”: a red month. In our data the typical coin was down in 4 of 8 years, so the nickname has not held up.

Counted from 8 years of daily closes (124 coin-months). The coins move together, so each year is one observation, not one per coin: too few to call a pattern.

September year by year

Each bar is one year: the median coin among those chosen below, so one runaway coin cannot set the figure. Change the coins and everything on this page recalculates.

Typical September
+0.4%

average of the years; median year −0.4%

Years up
4 of 8

50% of years

Best year
+24%

2026

Worst year
−18%

2020

September, year by year (median of 18 coins)

Each bar is the median coin that year; the dashed line averages the years. Hover or tap a bar for every coin behind it.

-20%0%20%−1.9%2019−18%2020−11%2021−2.6%2022+1.1%2023+7.8%2024+2.8%2025+24%2026average +0.4%
BTC−14−7.5−7.0−3.1+3.9+7.4+5.4+6.4−1.0%4/8
ETH+5.4−17−12−15+1.5+3.6−5.6+8.8−3.8%4/8
BNB−25+26−16+2.0−1.0+6.5+18+11+2.7%5/8
XRP−0.3−14−20+46+0.8+8.0+2.6+8.0+4.0%5/8
SOL–−39+31+5.6+8.3+13+4.0+15+5.2%6/7
TRX––+0.8−3.8+15−1.1−2.2+1.4+1.8%3/6
ZEC––−26−7.2+8.7−14+84+70+19%3/6
DOGE−3.2−18−27+0.5−2.7+13+9.0+14−1.7%4/8
LINK−0.6−37−10+14+39+7.5−8.2+27+4.1%4/8
ADA−13−17−24−2.6−0.5+8.2−0.5+25−3.1%2/8
XLM−0.2−23−18+9.9−2.3+6.4+3.2+28+0.5%4/8
NEAR––+31−19−2.0+31+11+178+38%4/6
BCH––−21+4.3+13+4.6+3.0+24+4.6%5/6
LTC––−11−0.7+3.3+2.8−1.8+39+5.2%3/6
UNI––––+1.9+24−21+70+19%3/4
AVAX––+69−10−7.4+21+28+51+25%4/6
HBAR–−31+34−9.2−5.0+15−1.8+42+6.5%3/7
SHIB––+5.0−6.5−8.1+27−3.0+14+4.6%3/6
Median coin−1.9−18−11−2.6+1.1+7.8+2.8+24+0.4%4/8
Coins up1/81/106/177/1710/1816/1810/1818/1856%–

Percent. In order of market cap; select a column heading to sort by it.

History, not a forecast. September has 8 years of data behind it, from a few big bull and bear runs. Coins move together, so a year is one observation however many coins you select.

How September compares with the other months

All coins, the same method for every month. Select a month for its own page.

January+11%4/8+7.2%1
February+4.1%4/8+7.7%6
March+5.3%5/8+7.2%5
April+3.3%5/8+7.3%7
May+0.8%4/8+3.9%8
June−12%0/8−4.1%12
July+9.7%6/8+8.3%2
August−0.4%4/8−0.5%10
September+0.4%4/8−1.0%9
October+6.2%5/7+17%4
November+7.0%3/7+4.4%3
December−9.3%1/7+3.7%11

In calendar order. Select a column heading to sort by it.

Questions

Is September a good month for crypto?
Across the 8 years in our data, the typical (median) coin among the largest returned +0.4% in September in the average year, and the market closed higher in 4 of them. That makes September the 9th strongest of the 12 months. With only 8 years of data behind it, treat it as a record of what happened, not a forecast.
Is September a good month for Bitcoin?
Bitcoin closed September higher in 4 of 8 years in our data, with an average return of −1.0% and a median of +0.4%. Its best September was 2024 (+7.4%) and its worst 2019 (−14%).
What was the best September for crypto?
September 2026, when the median coin returned +24% (18 of 18 coins up). The worst was September 2020, when the median coin returned −18%.
Which crypto does best in September?
Of the 18 coins with enough Septembers in our data, Avalanche has the highest median September (+25%) and Ethereum the lowest (−2.0%). A coin's record in one month is a handful of observations, so a ranking this short can reorder in a single year.
Does the September nickname hold up in the data?
September is known as “Rektember”: a red month. In our data the typical coin was down in 4 of 8 years, so the nickname has not held up.
Can I time my purchases by the month?
Not reliably. Each calendar month has at most 8 years of data behind it, from a few market cycles, and a pattern that held in those years has often vanished in the next. Prices to October 6, 2026. If you buy on a schedule instead, the DCA calculator shows what that would have returned.
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Disclaimer: This page is educational and does not constitute financial advice. It describes past price moves from daily closes on Binance and leaves out fees, taxes and staking rewards. Past performance does not predict future results. Cryptocurrency prices are volatile; never invest more than you can afford to lose.