Investing.com-- Bitcoin’s price moved little on Friday, while broader crypto prices retreated as appetite for risk-driven assets remained weak amid uncertainty over a tight U.S. election and high interest rates.
The world’s biggest cryptocurrency was also set for weekly losses after it failed to cross a key level this week, amid a dearth of major positive trading cues.
Bitcoin rose 0.4% to $67,38.7 by 01:15 ET (05:15 GMT).
Bitcoin options worth $4.2 billion are set to expire on Friday- an event that could potentially increase crypto market volatility.
Bitcoin set for weekly loss
The token was set to lose about 1% this week, after it largely failed to cross $70,000, which has become a psychologically important level for markets.
$70,000 puts Bitcoin about $4,000 away from making new highs- an event that is expected to mark a bullish point for crypto markets.
While increased odds of a Donald Trump victory in the upcoming presidential election had initially boosted crypto prices, this enthusiasm ran out of steam this week, as analysts predicted a tight race against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
Speculation over a Trump presidency also boosted the dollar, pressuring crypto markets as traders bet on more inflationary policies in the coming years.
Uncertainty over the election kept traders wary of risk-driven assets and largely biased towards safe havens such as the dollar and gold, with the latter hitting a record high this week.
The dollar was also supported by increased bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at a slower pace in the coming months- a scenario that bodes poorly for speculative assets such as crypto.
Crypto price today: altcoins sink, Solana set for stellar week
Broader crypto prices retreated on Friday, with major altcoins mostly moving in a flat-to-low range. World no.2 crypto Ether fell 2.3% to $2,497.84, with the coin expected to see increased volatility with the expiry of $1 billion in options later on Friday.
While most altcoins were headed for weekly declines, Solana was an outperformer, as increased blockchain activity- specifically among memetokens linked to artificial intelligence- boosted the token. SOL was set to add 8.7% this week, vastly outpacing broader crypto markets.
Other altcoins {{|ADA}}, MATIC and XRP all declined on Friday, while among memecoins, DOGE rose 0.6%.