Investing.com — Bitcoin price fell on Monday, reversing course after a brief rally over the weekend, with attention focused on this week's Federal Reserve meeting, where the central bank is expected to cut interest rates.
Cryptocurrency markets suffered some losses following a second assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Sunday, although Trump was unharmed and the assailant was arrested. Trump has unveiled a pro-cryptocurrency platform.
The cryptocurrency's price fell 2.7% to $58,483.3 as of 00:36 ET (04:36 GMT). The token remained within a trading range of between $50,000 and $60,000 seen for most of the year.
Trading volumes were somewhat subdued due to market holidays in Japan and South Korea.
Fed meeting expected, with focus on rate cuts
The Fed is widely expected to make a decision at the conclusion of a two-day meeting on Wednesday, although markets are divided over the scale of a possible cut.
Traders are pricing in a 50% chance of a 25- or 50-basis-point cut, he showed.
But the Fed is still widely expected to begin an easing cycle this week, which analysts expect will see it cut rates by at least 100 basis points by the end of the year.
Lower rates bode well for cryptocurrency markets, given their highly speculative nature. They were the key factor behind a cryptocurrency bull market in 2021.
But the cryptocurrency market has been grappling with a prolonged slump in retail interest over the past two years, and the launch of Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds this year provided only a limited boost.
Trump unharmed after assassination attempt
Former President Trump, who has championed cryptocurrency in his re-election campaign, emerged unscathed after reports of a second assassination attempt on Sunday.
Secret Service agents exchanged gunfire with a gunman at Trump's golf course in Florida, from where the assailant fled and was eventually captured by authorities.
Trump himself was far from the scene of the shooting and said he was unharmed.
The shooting is the second assassination attempt against the former president, following the attack in early July. Cryptocurrency prices had risen sharply after the July shooting, on bets that it would improve his presidential prospects.
But this time, Trump was recovering from a loss to Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in a presidential debate last week.
Cryptocurrency prices today: Altcoins fall following Bitcoin's example
Among cryptocurrency prices in general, major altcoins also fell along with Bitcoin, amid a dearth of positive signs for the sector.
The world's No. 2 cryptocurrency fell 5.6% to $2,281.39, while , , and fell between 0.5% and 5%.
Among meme tokens, it lost 3.8%.
