Investing.com — Bitcoin price fell slightly on Friday and was on track for a lackluster weekly performance as fears of more token distributions by Mt Gox and an unclear regulatory outlook caused cryptocurrency markets to lag behind a rally in equities.
The cryptocurrency fell 0.1% to $58,238.5 at 01:46 ET (05:46 GMT) and was expected to rise 1% this week. But the token remained within the $50,000 to $60,000 range it has traded in for most of the year.
Bitcoin came under pressure from a brief dollar rally on Thursday.
Bitcoin lags behind stock rally, though sentiment improves
Cryptocurrency markets received little support from improved sentiment in risk-driven markets amid easing fears of a US recession and persistent bets on interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Global stocks posted strong gains this week, with Wall Street indexes climbing to two-week highs while the heightened volatility seen last week now appeared to be fading.
Strong US retail sales data and softer inflation readings helped inspire confidence in the US economy and revived bets on a 25 basis point rate cut in September.
While lower interest rates bode well for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, the sector came under pressure from reports that Mt Gox was planning to move more Bitcoin back to its customers following a hack in 2014.
A wallet linked to Mt Gox, which holds $2 billion worth of Bitcoin, was seen initiating test transactions this week, which usually heralds a sale event.
Uncertainty over the US presidential election also played a role in caution towards cryptocurrencies, as Kamala Harris and Donald Trump were tied in the polls in the 2024 race. So far, only Trump has put forward a pro-crypto stance.
Data from earlier this week also showed traders withdrawing over $1 billion worth of USDT from cryptocurrency exchanges, potentially heralding a risk-off event.
Bitcoin exchange-traded funds also continued to see sustained outflows this week.
Cryptocurrency prices today: altcoins are down
The broader cryptocurrency markets also followed Bitcoin's weakness, with sentiment towards the sector showing little sign of improving.
The world's No. 2 token fell 1.4% to $2,600.94 and was set to lose 0.4% this week, its fourth consecutive week of losses.
and moved in a flat to low range, while among meme tokens, it fell 0.9%.
