Investing.com — Bitcoin price fell on Friday amid a dearth of major positive signals for the crypto asset, though losses in the token were limited by persistent speculation about lower interest rates in the United States.
The token recovered some of last week’s losses but still remained largely within a trading range established for most of this year as retail interest in cryptocurrencies waned and anticipation for the launch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds diminished.
Uncertainty over the regulatory outlook for cryptocurrencies also weighed in, as Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris was seen gaining an edge over Republican candidate Donald Trump after a heated presidential debate.
fell 0.5% to $57,891.5 at 01:22 ET (05:22 GMT).
Bitcoin set for weekly gain, but remains range-bound between $50-$60k
The world's largest cryptocurrency traded up 6.9% this week, with most of those gains coming from bargain buying after Bitcoin posted heavy losses last week.
The token remained exactly within a $50,000 to $60,000 trading range for most of the year as it continued to struggle to find direction after hitting new all-time highs in March.
As CryptoQuant data showed this week, the token was seen decoupling further, with the yellow metal hitting a record high on Friday amid increased safe-haven demand and bets on lower interest rates.
On the other hand, Bitcoin has lagged far behind even other conventional risk-driven markets, and has received little support from the prospect of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Trump says there will be no more debates with Harris
Pro-cryptocurrency presidential candidate Trump was seen losing ground to Harris this week after she was seen taking victory in a heated presidential debate.
Trump, on his Truth.Social platform, said he would not participate in any more debates with Harris, while launching personal attacks against his political rivals and also claiming he had won this week's debate.
Trump’s loss of ground has offered some negative signals to the cryptocurrency markets, given that he has maintained a largely pro-crypto stance in his campaign efforts. On the other hand, Harris is expected to continue the Biden administration’s scrutiny of the sector.
Cryptocurrency Price Today: Altcoins Mixed Amid Rate Cut Speculation
Cryptocurrency prices in general had mixed results, although mostly mild losses followed in Bitcoin.
The world's No. 2 cryptocurrency fell 0.3% to $2,350.61, trading in a flat to lower range while gaining 6%.
Among memecoins, it rose 0.7%.
Attention has turned to next week, when the central bank is expected to begin a cycle of rate cuts, but markets are divided on whether to cut by 25 or 50 basis points next week.
