Investing.com – Bitcoin’s price fell on Friday amid increased pressure from concerns about further regulatory action, while hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data also weighed on forecasts for smaller interest rate cuts.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency briefly dipped below a key support level on Thursday, but managed to claw back above $60,000, albeit briefly. The broader cryptocurrency markets were also mostly subdued.
fell 0.5% to $60,645.7 by 01:59 ET (05:59 GMT). The token dropped 2.3% this week.
Crypto shaken by SEC v. Cumberland case
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday charged cryptocurrency market maker Cumberland DRW with operating as an unregistered dealer for more than $2 billion in crypto assets since 2018.
The move is the latest in the SEC’s long-running crackdown on what it sees as repeated securities law violations in the crypto industry.
The agency is currently involved in lawsuits against Kraken and Coinbase (NASDAQ:) exchanges over allegations of security law violations on the grounds that crypto tokens are subject to securities laws.
The case against Cumberland has raised concerns about further regulatory action against the crypto industry.
Recent speculation about a massive token sale by the US government – almost 64,000 Bitcoins confiscated from the Silk Road website – has also lowered cryptocurrency prices.
On the regulatory front, markets are currently solely focused on the 2024 presidential election, where pro-crypto Republican candidate Donald Trump faces a tight race against Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. Harris is expected to likely continue the Biden administration’s crackdown on cryptocurrencies.
Hot CPI data worsens the mood
Risk appetite was also restricted by hotter-than-expected inflation data released on Thursday, which reinforced expectations for a slower rate of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Relatively higher longer term interest rates bode ill for speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies.
The dollar hit a two-month high this week, putting even more pressure on cryptocurrency valuations.
Still, markets maintained bets that the Fed would continue to cut interest rates by at least 25 basis points in November. Some feeble readings from the labor market confirmed this thesis.
Cryptocurrency price today: altcoins muted, head to weekly losses
Among broader cryptocurrency prices, most major altcoins fell on Friday and were set for soft weekly losses.
The world’s No. 2 cryptocurrency stabilized at $2,406.02. and increased slightly, as did .
Among meme tokens, it lost 0.5%.
