Bitcoin experienced a slight decline on Friday, relinquishing some of the gains amassed over the preceding two days, as a series of cautionary statements from Federal Reserve officials tempered optimism regarding potential interest rate cuts later this year.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency remained firmly ensconced within a narrow trading range of $60,000 to $70,000, a pattern established over the past two months. With weak capital flows and tepid risk appetite prevailing, Bitcoin struggled to find significant catalysts to propel it beyond this range.
By 01:30 ET (05:30 GMT), Bitcoin had retreated by 0.5% to $65,473.3.
However, despite this period of consolidation, Bitcoin’s performance over the past week has been robust, particularly considering its ascent from last week’s low of $60,000. The cryptocurrency has surged approximately 8% since then, buoyed primarily by the dollar’s weakness amid indications of easing U.S. inflation.
Following softer-than-expected consumer price index readings, traders began factoring in a higher likelihood of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September, a scenario conducive to speculative assets like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Nevertheless, the optimism surrounding potential rate cuts was somewhat dampened on Friday, curbing Bitcoin’s gains. A succession of Federal Reserve officials cautioned that the central bank required more compelling evidence of declining inflation before committing to any interest rate adjustments.
Their remarks catalyzed a sharp rebound in the dollar and halted the rally across most risk-driven assets.
In addition to uncertainties regarding U.S. interest rates, sentiment towards cryptocurrencies was tempered by apprehensions of further regulatory scrutiny within the industry.
Elsewhere in the cryptocurrency sphere, major altcoins retreated on Friday, largely trailing behind Bitcoin’s performance over the past week amid subdued sentiment towards the crypto market.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, experienced a 2.1% decline, while Solana and XRP remained relatively stable, moving less than 1% in either direction.
Meme tokens mirrored a downturn in their traditional stock counterparts, as the recent resurgence in meme stocks like GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC) began to reverse in recent sessions.
Dogecoin observed a 3.6% decline on Friday, while Shiba Inu registered a loss of 2.8%.