Bitcoin price today: drops for 3rd straight day below $96k on hawkish Fed outlook

Bitcoin fell notably on Friday, marking its third consecutive day of declines as macroeconomic pressures induced by the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance and recent profit-taking amid record highs sparked an extended pullback.

Bitcoin fell 6% to $95,699.0 by 08:47 ET (14:47 GMT). 

It fell below the $100,000 mark on Thursday after the Fed officials signaled a slower pace of rate cuts in 2025, with broader cryptocurrency markets also falling sharply. Bitcoin sees further profit-taking after Fed meeting

The world's largest cryptocurrency hit an all-time high of $108,244.9 on Tuesday, after which prices tumbled on profit-taking and an uncertain macroeconomic outlook.

This sell-off further intensified after the Fed forecast just two more interest rate cuts in 2025, against previous expectations of four.

The central bank’s hawkish stance weighed on Bitcoin as tighter monetary policy reduces liquidity, making speculative assets like cryptocurrencies less attractive.

Moreover, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank has no intention of participating in any government initiative to stockpile substantial amounts of bitcoin. 

This underscored growing doubts about a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, given the regulatory hurdles it is likely to face.

Incoming President Donald Trump had raised the prospect of a Bitcoin reserve, during an interview with CNBC last week.  First combined spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs approved in the U.S. 

The U.S. SEC has given the green light to filings from both the Nasdaq and the Cboe BZX Exchange to list and trade crypto index exchange-traded funds from Hashdex and Franklin Templeton.

The Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF and Franklin Crypto Index ETF will primarily hold spot bitcoin and spot ether, weighted roughly 80/20 in favor of bitcoin, based on their market capitalizations. According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, these funds are expected to launch in January.

“Will be interesting to see if BlackRock (NYSE:BLK ) or others attempt to piggyback on this and launch similar ETFs,” said Nate Geraci, President of The ETF Store. “Regardless, I expect there will be meaningful demand for these products. Advisors LOVE diversification. Especially in an emerging asset class such as crypto.”

These approvals mark the first time crypto index ETFs have been authorized in the U.S. El Salvador to continue buying Bitcoin despite IMF warning

El Salvador's government said on Thursday it will continue purchasing bitcoin, potentially at a faster rate, following a financing agreement with the International Monetary Fund.

The country’s President Nayib Bukele on Wednesday agreed to scale back Bitcoin's role in the El Salvador economy in return for a crucial $1.4 billion loan from the IMF. Bukele had in 2021 adopted Bitcoin as El Salvador's national currency, and had even planned to issue bonds backed by the country's Bitcoin holdings.

The IMF had advised the government to reduce its exposure to the cryptocurrency, with El Salvador's Bitcoin ambitions largely cutting it off from access to global debt markets.

Still, the country's Bitcoin stockpile has seen a large jump in valuation after the crypto's latest rally. Crypto price today: most altcoins slump as crypto losses build

Other cryptocurrencies fell more sharply than Bitcoin, as traders assessed the Fed’s hawkish tilt. With several consecutive days of declines this week, most altcoins have lost all the hefty gains they recorded last week.

World no.2 crypto Ether  slumped over 10% to $3,302.66. The token has fallen for four consecutive days. 

World no.3 crypto XRP  fell more than 7% to $2.19.

Solana  fell 9.5% and Polygon  slumped 11%, while Cardano  fell more than 10% to $0.8609.

Among meme tokens, Dogecoin  plunged 17% to $0.3015.

Source: Investing.com