Bitcoin price today: steadies near $69k as election jitters mount

Bitcoin’s price rose slightly on Monday, steadying after a failed push towards record highs saw the cryptocurrency nursing steep losses over the weekend.

Risk appetite was also strained by anticipation of a tight presidential election, while traders turned more skeptical towards speculative assets before a Federal Reserve meeting this week. 

Bitcoin rose 0.6% to $69,018.9 by 00:30 ET (05:30 GMT).  Election jitters dent Bitcoin as Harris gained some ground

Recent polls showed Donald Trump and Kamala Harris were headed for a tight race, with voting set for Tuesday. The race is expected to be largely determined by seven key battleground states.

Trump was regarded as the more favorable candidate by crypto markets, given that he has presented a largely pro-crypto stance in recent campaigning. Harris, on the other hand, has pledged to a crypto regulatory framework, but has not elaborated on her stance towards the industry. 

Prediction markets over the past few weeks had largely favored a Trump victory. But this trend shifted over the past few sessions, with Harris regaining some ground. 

Online prediction site Polymarket showed Harris’ odds at 44%, up substantially from 35% last week, while Trump’s odds were at 56%, down sharply from the 66% seen last week. 

The shift was a large factor behind Bitcoin’s recent losses. The token had risen as high as $73,600 last week, coming within spitting distance of a record high hit in March this year. Crypto price today: altcoins muted amid Fed uncertainty 

Broader crypto prices were also largely subdued, with anticipation of a Federal Reserve meeting later this week adding to the uncertainty. 

World no.2 crypto Ether rose 1% to $2,465.40, and was also nursing a sharp fall over the weekend. 

Among other altcoins, XRP and SOL were flat, while ADA and MATIC slid around 3% each. Among meme tokens, DOGE fell 0.3%. 

The Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points - a smaller cut than the 50 bps cut in September. 

Any signals on future rate cuts will be closely watched, given that recent data showed some stickiness in U.S. inflation, while the labor market cooled. 

Source: Investing.com