Street Calls of the Week
Investing.com-- Bitcoin edged lower on Friday as a recent rally on optimism over lower U.S. interest rates ran dry, while markets were also reeling from somewhat hawkish signals from the Bank of Japan.
Broader crypto prices also mostly retreated after recouping some of their late-August losses this week, although caution over crypto markets still remained in play.
Bitcoin fell 1% to $116,160 by 09:25 ET (13:25 GMT). The world’s largest crypto was set to add 0.7% this week.
Buying action by major corporate treasuries– chiefly Strategy (MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR)) did little to shore up prices this week. Neither did the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission outlining easier rules to list crypto exchange-traded products.
Bitcoin stalls as post-Fed rally cools, BOJ rings hawkish
Bitcoin recouped some of its late-August losses through the first two weeks of September, aided mostly by dip-buying and as markets cheered a widely expected interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve this week.
But Bitcoin and broader cryptos were seen losing steam in recent sessions amid growing caution over corporate crypto treasuries, as analysts flagged risks to long-term gains from the strategy.
Enthusiasm over lower U.S. interest rates was also dulled by the Fed rejecting calls for deeper cuts, citing caution over sticky U.S. inflation. A cooling labor market also sparked questions over the U.S. economy.
The BOJ acted as another source of caution on Friday, after the central bank outlined plans to begin selling its massive holdings of exchange-traded funds and real estate investment trusts.
While the BOJ left interest rates unchanged as expected, its announcement of the planned asset sales struck markets as hawkish, given that the move does entail further policy tightening. This also kept expectations for an October rate hike squarely in play.
The central bank also flagged sustained caution over the world’s fifth-largest economy.
Crypto price today: altcoins dither, set for muted week
Broader crypto prices moved little on Friday, and were mostly set for middling weekly performances.
World no.2 crypto Ether fell 1.1% to $4,532.85, and was set to drop 1.5% for the week.
XRP fell 2.8% to $3.03 and was trading flat week-to-date.
Binance’s BNB steadied around $991.84 after hitting a record high of over $1,000 on Thursday. The coin was also set to add 7% this week.
Cardano and Solana slid 1.2% and 2.2%, respectively, while among memecoins, Dogecoin dipped around 4% and $TRUMP lost 1.8%
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.)