Investing.com — Bitcoin prices fell slightly on Friday and were on track for a steep weekly loss as a rout in broader financial markets on concerns about slowing economic growth hit cryptocurrency prices.
Fears of a sell-off event by the US government, coupled with uncertainty over how the US presidential race will affect cryptocurrency regulation, also kept traders largely averse to cryptocurrencies.
stabilized at $64,255 as of 02:02 ET (06:02 GMT), after sinking to a low of $63,697.1 earlier.
Bitcoin heads for weekly losses as crypto sentiment deteriorates
The world's largest cryptocurrency was expected to lose more than 5% this week as sentiment towards crypto markets deteriorated amid growing uncertainties in the sector.
Bitcoin was hit by reports that the US government had mobilized around $2 billion worth of confiscated tokens for possible sale, a scenario that presents downward pressure on the price of Bitcoin.
A broader risk-off sentiment also kept traders wary of cryptocurrency markets as a string of weak economic readings from the US and China heightened concerns about slowing growth, driving traders to safe havens such as gold, the dollar and the Japanese yen.
Global stock markets suffered a sharp fall on Thursday and Friday amid heightened risk aversion.
Additionally, uncertainty over the US presidential election was also at play after a Bloomberg poll showed that Democratic front-runner Kamala Harris is now tied with Republican candidate Donald Trump, diminishing the possibility of a Trump presidency. Cryptocurrency markets rallied last week following Trump’s comments that he will foster the industry if re-elected.
Harris, for her part, has not made any open statements about cryptocurrencies, but it is widely assumed that she will continue the Biden administration's offensive against the sector, arguing that it encourages fraud.
Cryptocurrency price today: Altcoins follow Bitcoin's losses
Among the broader cryptocurrency markets, major altcoins followed Bitcoin's weakness amid few positive signs. Altcoins were also heading for weekly losses.
The world's No. 2 token fell 1.6% to $3,134.41 and was on track for a weekly loss of 3.5%. The token received little cheer following the launch of Ether exchange-traded funds on U.S. markets last week.
and fell between 2% and 7%, while among meme tokens, and fell more than 2% each.
