Investing.com– The price of bitcoin fell on Tuesday as risk appetite remained fragile amid longer-term higher U.S. interest rates and continued geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
It soared to a more than five-month high this week, putting pressure on the broader crypto market as strong retail sales and inflation data caused traders to discount expectations of the first US interest rate cuts.
fell 3.6% in the last 24 hours to $62,555.0 at 01:05 a.m. (CET) (05:05 GMT). Traders largely remained biased toward traditional safe havens such as the dollar and gold.
Hong Kong Crypto ETF Approval Brings Little Joy
Weak risk appetite largely overshadowed the approval of spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds by Hong Kong regulators on Monday.
The move offers Chinese and Hong Kong investors some exposure to cryptocurrency markets, after cryptocurrencies were effectively banned in mainland China in 2021 over issues of gambling and market manipulation.
But while three ETF providers have received approval for the products from Hong Kong regulators, they have yet to launch any offerings.
It remains to be seen whether Hong Kong ETFs can inspire a Bitcoin rally similar to that seen in US markets earlier this year. The approval of US spot ETFs had sparked a stellar rally in the world's largest cryptocurrency over the past two months, although capital flows were now seen slowing as enthusiasm cooled.
Crypto Price Today: Prices Fall as Crypto ETFs See Outflows
Cryptocurrency prices overall fell on Tuesday as risk appetite remained weak amid tensions between Iran and Israel, as well as the prospect of longer higher interest rates in the United States.
fell 2.9% to $3,047.26, while losing 2.1% and 9.8%, respectively.
Cryptocurrency prices had seen a sudden drop over the weekend following an Iranian attack on Israel, although they regained some ground after reports showed damage from the attack was minimal.
But reports this week showed that Israel was now considering retaliating for the attack.
Better-than-expected US data sent the dollar up to more than five-month highs, while anticipation of an upcoming speech also kept traders on edge.
The weak risk environment made traders more averse to speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies.
Data from digital asset manager CoinShares also showed on Monday that cryptocurrency investment products saw outflows over the past week.
