Bitcoin price today: edges lower to $102k as risk appetite remains frail

Investing.com-- Bitcoin edged lower on Thursday, struggling to recover from recent losses, with economic uncertainty and cooling rate cut bets continuing to weigh on risk sentiment.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency had slumped into a bear market this week, as it tumbled more than 20% from record highs hit in early October. 

Bitcoin fell 1.5% to $102,230.0 by 10:05 ET (15:05 GMT). It had earlier this week tumbled below $100,000, hitting its weakest level since mid-June. 

World Economic Forum President Brende warns of crypto bubble 

World Economic Forum President Borge Brende warned of a potential crypto bubble when speaking to reporters in Brazil on Wednesday.

Brende also warned of potential bubbles in artificial intelligence and government debt. 

Fears of a technology valuation bubble were a key driver of market losses this week, with losses in equities largely spilling over into crypto markets. 

Bitcoin’s losses so far in November also came after crypto markets largely ducked expectations for outperformance in October. The world’s largest crypto lost some 5% last month, breaking seven straight years of outperformance in October.

Bitcoin and broader crypto markets have also largely lagged behind other risk-driven markets since early-October, after a flash crash in the sector wiped out some $500 billion in valuations. 

Robinhood Q3 crypto revenues surge but miss expectations

Robinhood Markets Inc (NASDAQ:HOOD) on Wednesday reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings on a boom in crypto trading volumes, although its crypto revenue still fell short of Bloomberg estimates. 

Shares of the trading app fell as much as 4% in aftermarket trade on Wednesday.

Revenue from Robinhood’s crypto trading business surged 300% year-on-year to $268 million. The company also announced that CFO Jason Warnick will leave his role in the first quarter of 2026, and will be replaced by company veteran Shiv Verma. 

JPM sees ‘significant upside’ for Bitcoin, theoretical fair value near $170K

JPMorgan said the latest selloff in digital assets appears to have run its course, noting that “deleveraging in perpetual futures is likely behind us.”

Bitcoin and Ethereum futures markets have stabilized after a roughly 20% market correction driven by liquidations earlier in October and November, including the $120 million Balancer DeFi exploit, which had briefly worsened sentiment.

In a Wednesday note, analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou added that the rise in gold volatility has made Bitcoin more attractive on a volatility-adjusted basis.

With Bitcoin’s volatility ratio versus gold now below 2.0, the bank estimates that its current $2.1 trillion market cap would need to rise by roughly 67% — implying a theoretical price of about $170,000 — to match private-sector gold investment on a risk-adjusted basis.

"The gap between the bitcoin price and our volatility-adjusted comparison to gold shifted from highly positive territory at the end of 2024 to negative territory currently, with the bitcoin price currently being $68k too low compared to gold, having been $36k too high at the end of 2024," the analysts wrote.

"This mechanical exercise thus implies significant upside for bitcoin over the next 6-12 months," they added. 

Crypto price today: altcoins muted amid low risk appetite

Broader crypto prices were largely flat Thursday, nursing steep losses this week as risk appetite remained dull.

World no.2 crypto Ether was muted at $3,337.84, with XRP also unchanged at $2.25.

Solana slipped 0.4%, while Cardano and BNB lost 2.5% and 1.6%, respectively. 

Among meme tokens, Dogecoin slid 3%, while $TRUMP outperformed, rallying more than 7% on no clear factors. 

Crypto prices were battered this week amid heightened uncertainty over the U.S. economy, especially amid an ongoing government shutdown. Cooling bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in December also weighed on risk assets. 

(Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.)