Investing.com

Bitcoin fell slightly on Friday as a recent rally past key levels cooled, with traders remaining largely risk-averse before a Federal Reserve rate decision due next week.

The world’s biggest cryptocurrency rose sharply on Thursday after President-elect Donald Trump reiterated his pledge to make the U.S. a global crypto leader. But this bounce was short-lived, given that he did not provide any major cues on policy.

Bitcoin fell 0.7% to $99,961.4 by 00:30 ET (05:30 GMT).

Fed Anticipation Boosts Dollar, Pressures Crypto

Focus was now squarely on the Fed’s rate decision next week, where the central bank is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points.

However, markets turned uncertain over the Fed’s long-term outlook on rates, especially as producer inflation data for November read higher than expected while consumer inflation remained sticky.

The dollar firmed on this notion, pressuring risk-driven assets across the board. Traders were now awaiting the Fed’s outlook on rates and are bracing for a slower pace of easing in 2025.

High rates limit the appeal of speculative assets such as crypto.

Bitcoin, Ether Spot ETFs See Sustained Inflows

Recent crypto market data showed spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking Bitcoin and Ether saw sustained inflows through early December amid optimism over friendlier regulations under Trump.

Bitcoin ETFs saw an eleventh consecutive day of inflows as of December 12, with Blackrock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT) commanding the biggest share of inflows.

Spot Ether ETFs marked 14 straight days of inflows, with Blackrock (NYSE:BLK) and Grayscale ETFs seeing the most inflows.

ETF inflows signal increased institutional interest in crypto, given that they offer investors a safer way to gain crypto exposure. The launch of spot ETFs in U.S. markets earlier this year was viewed as largely positive for crypto, with inflows picking up rapidly after Trump’s election victory in early November.

Crypto Price Today: Altcoins Track Bitcoin Losses

Most major altcoins rescinded some of their gains made this week alongside Bitcoin. However, they had also largely outpaced Bitcoin in recent weeks as markets bet that friendly U.S. regulations would allow cryptos beyond Bitcoin to flourish.

Ether fell 0.3% to $3,916.31, while XRP dropped 3.6% to $2.3458.

Solana, Cardano, and Polygon fell between 2% and 7%, while among meme tokens, Dogecoin declined 2.7%.