PK Press Club–Bitcoin fell on Friday and is expected to see steep losses this week as increased concerns over slowing U.S. interest rate cuts and potential government coin sales erode sentiment toward cryptography.
Crypto markets have also largely followed the slowdown in broader risk-oriented markets, as traders have turned to safe havens such as gold and the dollar amid heightened economic uncertainty.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency has also been subject to profit-taking after tripling its value through 2024. Prices of broader cryptocurrencies have also fallen in tandem with Bitcoin.
fell 0.6% to $93,925.0 at 12:56 a.m. ET (05:56 GMT). The coin briefly fell as low as $92,474.1.
Bitcoin heading for weekly losses
Bitcoin was trading down about 4.4% this week, its worst performance since late September.
In addition to a broader sense of risk aversion, Bitcoin was also pressured by reports that the Justice Department had received court approval to sell approximately $6.5 billion worth of Bitcoin confiscated on the Silk Road black market.
Although the DOJ sale represents increased selling pressure on Bitcoin, it also dashed hopes that new President Donald Trump would convert confiscated government token assets into a strategic reserve.
Trump has pledged to enact crypto-friendly regulations and has also raised the possibility of a Bitcoin strategic reserve.
But analysts have expressed doubts about how it would create the reserve, given that Congress is unlikely to authorize additional budgetary spending for government purchases of Bitcoin.
Still, optimism over Trump has led to strong gains in Bitcoin through the end of 2024, pushing the token to an all-time high of over $108,000. Trump was also seen nominating a large number of crypto-friendly candidates to key regulatory positions.
Crypto Price Today: Altcoins Fall as Nonfarm Wages Loom
Broader crypto prices followed Bitcoin weakness as risk appetite deteriorated ahead of key data due later on Friday, which is likely to factor into expectations in interest rate matters.
This reading comes just days after the Federal Reserve’s December meeting minutes reiterated the bank’s outlook that there would be fewer interest rate cuts in 2025, which bodes ill for risky assets.
The world’s No. 2 crypto fell 2% to $3,262.51, while it fell 2.3% to $2.2949.
and fell between 0.8% and 3%, while among meme tokens, lost 2.8%.
