Investing.com – Bitcoin rose slightly on Friday, holding near record highs on support from a weaker dollar and growing bets on U.S. interest rate cuts ahead of key nonfarm payrolls data.

rose 0.6% in the last 24 hours to $71,327.6 by 01:55 ET (05:55 GMT). The token was expected to add more than 5% this week after breaking out of the $60,000 to $70,000 trading range established since mid-March.

The number of bets on interest rate cuts increases ahead of non-farm payrolls data

Prices of Bitcoin and broader cryptocurrencies have been boosted by rising expectations for the Fed’s launch.

A string of faint U.S. macroeconomic readings supported this thesis, as investors bet that a cooling U.S. economy would give the Fed more confidence to ease monetary policy. The dollar fell this week, which also benefited risk-based assets.

The readings came ahead of key data due later on Friday and expected to provide more definitive guidance on the labor market and interest rates.

Looser monetary conditions bode well for risky speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies, given that they free up more capital that can then be funneled into speculative cryptocurrency plays.

Bitcoin was trading less than $3,000 below its record high as expectations of lower rates spurred a immense dose of institutional capital flows into cryptocurrency-linked exchange-traded funds.

The buzz around the approval of Bitcoin cash ETFs for U.S. markets was a key factor behind the cryptocurrency’s record surge earlier this year.

Analysts say the prospect of lower interest rates could spark another record surge for the token in the near future.

Today’s Crypto Price: Altcoin Drop Set for Average Weekly Performance

Among broader cryptocurrency markets, major altcoins also held in a tight trading range on Friday, awaiting more signals on U.S. interest rates.

However, most tokens were set for some weekly gains amid expectations of lower interest rates and continued optimism about the spot ETF.

The world’s No. 2 token fell by 0.8% to $3,814.40, and its price remained unchanged for a week.

Altcoins and retreads are up 1% to 3% this week.

Among the memetokens it dropped slightly. They also received a little support from some resurgence in meme trading following a acute rise in GME meme stocks this week.