Bitcoin Market Update

Bitcoin’s price moved little on Friday, with broader crypto prices retreating due to weak appetite for risk-driven assets amid uncertainty from the U.S. election and high interest rates.

The world’s biggest cryptocurrency was also set for weekly losses after failing to cross a key level during the week, lacking major positive trading cues.

Bitcoin rose 0.4% to $67,38.7 by 01:15 ET (05:15 GMT).

Bitcoin Options Expiry

Bitcoin options worth $4.2 billion were set to expire on Friday, a potential factor for increasing crypto market volatility.

Weekly Losses

The token was expected to lose about 1% this week, after largely failing to cross the psychologically important level of $70,000. Reaching this level would put Bitcoin around $4,000 away from potential new highs, marking a bullish point for crypto markets.

Increased odds of a Donald Trump victory in the upcoming presidential election had initially boosted crypto prices, but enthusiasm waned this week as analysts predicted a tight race against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. Speculation over a Trump presidency also strengthened the dollar, pressuring crypto markets as traders anticipated more inflationary policies.

Uncertainty surrounding the election kept traders cautious of risk-driven assets, favoring safe havens like the dollar and gold, which hit a record high this week.

The dollar’s strength was further supported by expectations that the Federal Reserve will slow down interest rate cuts, a scenario unfavorable to speculative assets like crypto.

Broader Crypto Market Trends

On Friday, broader crypto prices retreated, with major altcoins mostly moving within a flat-to-low range. The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, Ether, fell 2.3% to $2,497.84 and is expected to experience increased volatility due to the expiration of $1 billion in options later on Friday.

While most altcoins headed for weekly declines, Solana emerged as an outperformer due to increased blockchain activity, particularly around AI-linked memetokens, with SOL expected to add 8.7% this week—greatly surpassing broader crypto market performance.

Other altcoins like ADA, MATIC, and XRP all showed declines on Friday, while memecoin DOGE rose 0.6%.