Investing.com – Bitcoin rose slightly in Asian trading on Friday, while prices of broader cryptocurrencies fell as forecasts of fewer interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve sent investors mostly toward the dollar.
The larger move towards an Ether exchange-traded fund has also done little to shore up sentiment towards cryptocurrency markets.
fell 0.9% in the last 24 hours to $67,030.4 at 01:56 ET (05:56 GMT). The token fell as low as $66,000 on Thursday as the dollar rebounded sharply from one-month lows.
The token was also heading for weekly losses as heightened fears of high interest rates largely offset increased capital flows into cryptocurrency investment products.
MicroStrategy Incorporated’s (NASDAQ:) plans to buy more Bitcoin through a $500 million bond issue also haven’t sparked much price action.
Bitcoin Heads for Weekly Losses as Interest Rate Concerns Grow
The value of the world’s largest cryptocurrency has fallen 3.3% over the past seven days as concern over high long-term interest rates in the US has dimmed the outlook for cryptocurrencies.
While weaker-than-expected U.S. inflation data initially weakened the dollar, Bitcoin took some minor support from the trend after the Fed said it sees the possibility of only one rate cut this year, down from its earlier forecast of three cuts.
This caused investors to price in most expectations for multiple interest rate cuts, which particularly weighed on speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies. High rates bode ill for cryptocurrencies, given that they restrict overall liquidity conditions as well as deter bets on risky and speculative assets.
The dollar benefited from this trade, rebounding from its lowest level in a month
Cryptocurrency Price Today: Ether A Little Enthused by ETF Progress
Broader cryptocurrency prices traded in a flat to low range as concerns over high interest rates largely offset some positive moves towards the spot Ether ETF.
rose 0.2% to $3,515.79 and was the only positive result in the altcoin trade. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said in Senate testimony that he expects Ether spot ETFs to be fully approved by the regulator by the summer.
The token rose as much as 1% but quickly reclaimed most of its gains in the overdue session on Thursday.
The remaining altcoins largely declined. and they lost over 2% each.
Among memecoins and fell by about 0.5% each.
