Investing.com– The price of bitcoin fell on Wednesday, extending the previous session's decline as risk appetite was largely limited by anticipation of a Federal Reserve meeting and key inflation data.
It fell 0.8% in the last 24 hours to $67,372.3 at 01:34 a.m. (CET) (05:34 GMT). On Tuesday it had fallen to $66,000.
Bitcoin Volatile as Rate Jitters Hit Sentiment
Bitcoin has seen wild swings in recent sessions, also rising as high as $72,000, as sentiment toward cryptocurrencies remained in suspense ahead of clearer signals on U.S. interest rates.
High rates decrease the attractiveness of risk-driven assets like cryptocurrencies. They also present a more difficult outlook for the sector by keeping liquidity levels low.
This caused traders to abandon Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies this week and head towards assets more insulated against rate fluctuations, such as the dollar.
While data showed that Bitcoin and other crypto investment products saw inflows worth $2 billion in the first week of June, this was not reflected in the price.
The Fed is expected to do so at the conclusion of a two-day meeting later on Wednesday. But the central bank could potentially present a more hawkish outlook, especially in the face of sticky inflation and a resilient labor market.
Ahead of the Fed's decision, key data will be released on Wednesday and is also expected to show that inflation remained stable in May.
Recent jitters over the job market and inflation caused traders to reduce their bets on a rate cut in September, boosting and weighing on cryptocurrency prices.
Crypto Price Today: Altcoins Fall Amid Rate Jitters
Beyond Bitcoin, major altcoins also retreated on Wednesday amid persistent U.S. interest rate jitters.
The world's No. 2 token fell more than 1% to $3,511.91, further paring gains through May amid uproar over a spot Ether exchange-traded fund.
, and fell between 1.2% and 2.5%. Among the meme tokens and they fell 1.5% and 2.4%, respectively.
Sentiment towards meme tokens also seemed to cool down along with meme stocks. GameStop Corp (NYSE đŸ™‚ wiped out most of the gains made in late May, after a major influencer resumed posting on social media after a prolonged hiatus.
