Investing.com – Bitcoin fell on Tuesday, extending recent declines as investors largely remained cautious about speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies in anticipation of the hotly contested presidential election.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency came within a whisker of a record high last week before retreating sharply as investors became increasingly uncertain about the upcoming election.

Losses in broader risk-based markets, especially equities, also showed that sentiment remains delicate, with the Federal Reserve meeting later this week also in focus.

fell 1.2% to $68,345.50 by 00:27 ET (05:27 GMT).

Bitcoin skittish towards Trump, Harris set for a tight race

Bitcoin’s initial gains were driven by increased speculation that Donald Trump would defeat Kamala Harris in the upcoming election.

But recent polls and forecast markets have shown Trump’s lead has largely evaporated ahead of the election, with voting scheduled to begin later on Tuesday.

Trump has promised cryptocurrency-friendly policies, and last week, increased bets on Trump’s victory sent cryptocurrency markets soaring. Harris also pledged to introduce a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, although both candidates provided few details about their plans for cryptocurrencies.

Online forecast marketplace Polymarket showed Trump’s odds at 59.1%, while Harris’ odds were 40.9%. An Investing.com poll found that 78% of users expect Trump to win.

Cryptocurrency Price Today: Mixed Altcoins, Fed Spotlight

Broader cryptocurrency prices remained in a flat to low range on Tuesday, although most altcoins saw recent losses in conjunction with Bitcoin.

The world’s No. 2 cryptocurrency fell 1.8% to $2,428.50.

and rose slightly while it sank lower. Among meme tokens, it outperformed, rising 9.1%.

Attention this week also focused on Thursday’s Federal Reserve meeting, where the central bank is widely expected to do just that.

Attention will also focus on signals from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell about the Fed’s plans to cut interest rates further, especially as the latest data showed U.S. inflation remaining unchanged.

However, Friday’s data showed a pointed cooling in the labor market, and this trend could trigger further interest rate cuts from the Fed.