Investing.com– Bitcoin fell slightly on Friday and was set for a muted weekly performance as concerns about a larger distribution of tokens by Mt Gox and an unclear regulatory outlook caused cryptocurrency markets to lag behind a stock market rebound.

It fell 0.1% to $58,238.50 by 01:46 ET (05:46 GMT) and was expected to rise about 1% this week. But the token has remained squarely in the $50,000-$60,000 trading range for most of the year.

Bitcoin came under pressure from a brief rebound in the dollar on Thursday.

Bitcoin lags stock recovery even as sentiment improves

Cryptocurrency markets saw little support from improving risk-on sentiment amid waning fears of a US recession and continued bets on interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

Global stock markets posted sturdy gains this week, with Wall Street indexes hitting two-week highs as the heightened volatility seen last week began to clear.

Strong U.S. retail sales data and lower inflation rates helped boost confidence in the U.S. economy and bolstered bets on a 25 basis point interest rate cut in September.

While lower interest rates bode well for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the sector has come under pressure from reports that Mt Gox plans to return more bitcoin to its customers following a 2014 hack.

A Mt Gox-linked wallet that holds $2 billion in bitcoin initiated test transactions this week, which typically heralds a sell-off.

Uncertainty surrounding the US presidential election has also fueled caution towards cryptocurrencies, with Kamala Harris and Donald Trump seen as neck and neck in the 2024 race. So far, only Trump has come out with a pro-crypto stance.

Data earlier this week also showed that investors withdrew more than $1 billion in USDT from cryptocurrency exchanges, which could herald a risk-off trend.

Bitcoin ETFs have also seen steady outflows this week.

Cryptocurrency Price Today: Altcoins Drift Down

The broader cryptocurrency market also saw bitcoin weaken, with sentiment towards the sector showing no signs of improving.

The world’s second-largest token fell 1.4% to $2,600.94 and was forecast to shed 0.4% this week, marking its fourth straight week of losses.

and traded flat to low, while meme tokens fell 0.9%.