Investing.com– The price of bitcoin stabilized on Monday after a sharp decline over the weekend sent the cryptocurrency back from recent highs, putting the focus squarely on more key signals on U.S. interest rates.
The world's largest cryptocurrency had reached $72,000 last week, approaching the all-time highs reached in March. But it then experienced a heavy dose of profit-taking and weakness starting Friday after the dollar rallied.
It rose 0.3% in the last 24 hours to $69,534.4 at 02:04 a.m. (CET) (06:04 GMT).
Bitcoin price stabilizes with Fed meeting and CPI in focus
Bitcoin's weekend drop came on the heels of a more positive-than-expected reading, which caused traders to largely reconsider recent bets that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting rates in September.
This notion fueled the , which in turn affected broader cryptocurrency prices.
The payrolls reading also put the Fed's next meeting in focus, and the central bank is expected to do so at the conclusion of a two-day meeting on Wednesday.
But the Federal Reserve's outlook on rates will be closely watched.
Ahead of the Fed rate decision, inflation data will also be released on Wednesday. The reading is expected to show inflation remains well above the Federal Reserve's 2% annual target, giving the central bank little confidence to start cutting rates.
Longer high rates bode poorly for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general, as the sector generally benefits from increased liquidity and loose credit conditions.
Cryptocurrency price today: altcoins take care of losses
Broader crypto markets also suffered heavy losses over the weekend as fears of high rates weighed on the sector. They were also affected by profit taking following some gains during May.
The world's No. 2 token stabilized at $3,680.01 on Monday, after losing nearly 4% on Friday.
and rose between 0.3% and 1.4%, while among meme coins, SHIB and DOGE fell 0.1% and 0.8%, respectively.
