Investing.com-- Bitcoin declined for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday as a rally sparked by Donald Trump’s presidential election victory lost steam after the Federal Reserve turned hawkish last week.
Bitcoin fell 2.1% to $94,350.0 by 06:55 ET (11:55 GMT). It fell below the $93,000 level on Monday.
The token had fallen below the key $100,000 level last week after the Fed officials signaled a slower pace for future cuts. Bitcoin has declined for six out of the last seven days.
Bitcoin loses steam after record peak on Fed rate outlook
Bitcoin recorded its first weekly fall since Trump’s election win in early November, last week.
The rally had pushed prices to an all-time high of $108,244.9, after which prices fell due to profit-taking amid macroeconomic pressures induced by the Fed rate outlook.
The central bank lowered rates by 25 basis points but indicated only two rate cuts for the upcoming year, compared with previous expectations for four cuts.
This shift led investors to reassess their positions in speculative assets like Bitcoin, contributing to its price decline.
Crypto stocks fall tracking Bitcoin prices
Crypto-related stocks fell on Monday tracking the downtrend in Bitcoin prices, which reached near the $92,000 level a day earlier.
MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) fell nearly 9%, while Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) declined 4%. Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT)also ended lower on Monday.
MicroStrategy also came under added pressure after announcing a 1.3-million-stock sale to buy 5,262 bitcoins.
The most valuable Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:MARA) dropped 3.6%.
Crypto price today: most altcoins higher but remain pressured
Other cryptocurrencies were higher on Monday. Gains were limited as the demand for speculative assets was still subdued after the hawkish Fed rattled investor sentiment.
World no.2 crypto Ether was 2.2% higher at $3,408.93. Ether fell for several consecutive days since last week but has recovered slightly in the previous two days.
World no.3 crypto XRP rose 1.8% to $2.237.
Solana rose nearly 5% and Polygon jumped 5.5%, while Cardano added less than 1%. Among meme tokens, Dogecoin rose 2.2%.
Continued Bitcoin choppiness could drive interest in altcoins
Traders expect continued volatility in Bitcoin with a potential shift toward altcoins, as a significant options expiry influences market conditions in the upcoming holiday week.
“All eyes are on the massive expiry this Friday, where almost $20B notional across BTC and ETH options will expire,” QCP Capital said in a broadcast early Tuesday. “This represents almost half the total open interest (OI) on Deribit. We believe it’s quite possible especially if spot continues to range here and as option sellers continue to roll their shorts out.”
"Rolling" refers to traders extending their option positions by moving them to a later expiration date, rather than allowing them to expire. This strategy helps maintain the trade if they remain confident in their market outlook.
Elevated volatility can benefit option buyers by increasing the likelihood of the option becoming “in-the-money” – potentially generating profits before expiration.
“As BTC continues to struggle below 100k, we could also see alts start to play catch up again,” QCP noted, pointing out that a similar pattern emerged last month when bitcoin traded around current levels.