Investing.com– The price of bitcoin barely moved on Thursday, as the cryptocurrency's recent rally, amid hype over a potential Ether spot exchange-traded fund, was largely undermined by renewed fears of highs. United States interest rates.
U.S. interest rate jitters sparked strong overnight gains in the U.S. dollar, putting pressure on cryptocurrency prices across the board.
fell 0.3% in the last 24 hours to $69,418.9 at 01:21 ET (05:21 GMT). The world's largest cryptocurrency is back in a trading range seen for most of the past two months, after a brief breakout earlier this week.
The world's No. 2 token held around two-month highs hit earlier this week, retaining much of the gains made by enthusiasm over the potential approval of a spot Ether ETF for US markets. The Securities and Exchange Commission will make a decision on the matter as soon as Thursday or Friday.
Spot Ether ETF dominates the market focus
Ether rose slightly in the last 24 hours to $3,776.69. The token marked a strong rally this week after reports on Monday said the SEC had asked certain exchanges to adjust their filings for Ether spot ETFs.
While the move marked some progress toward timely approval of the ETF, it did not guarantee its approval.
The SEC must now decide on applications for a spot Ether ETF from VanEck, ARK Investment Management and seven other issuers later on Thursday or Friday.
The approval of an Ether spot ETF could lead to further capital flows into crypto markets, similar to those seen with the approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF earlier this year. But those
Cryptocurrency price today: Rate jitters intensify and take a toll on prices
Broader cryptocurrency markets unwound much of the gains made earlier this week, as fears grew that US interest rates will be high for longer following some hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's late April meeting showed growing concern among policymakers about sticky inflation, with some members even signaling they were prepared to raise rates to quell inflation.
A number of Fed officials also warned this week that the bank had little confidence that inflation was steadily declining toward its 2% annual target.
While the chances of another rate hike are slim, any inflation stickiness will likely delay the Federal Reserve's plans to begin cutting rates. High long-term rates bode poorly for crypto markets, given that the sector generally thrives in low-rate, high-liquidity markets.
Altcoin prices mostly fell on Thursday. lost 2.2%, while it lost 1.2%. Among meme tokens, they fell 0.7%, while they lost 0.8%.
