Bitcoin price today: In red as US election jitters shake crypto markets

Bitcoin price racked up more losses Friday as the crypto market pulled back for the third straight day with the spotlight shifting to a dip in Donald Trump’s odds in the US presidential elections. 

The broad sell-off went beyond the original cryptocurrency, with the price of Ether and other altcoins falling sharply, while the overall market cap decreased by 5.5%.

After hitting its second-highest price this year at $73,600, Bitcoin dropped over 6.5% in the last three days, settling below $69,000 yesterday with a 5% fall in the past 24 hours. Ethereum followed suit, dropping 4.59% to $2,521.48, as the general market sentiment turned bearish.

Other altcoins also took a hit. Solana slipped by 4.00%, now priced at $168.03, and Cardano is down 3.01% at $0.3465. Polygon saw a 1.81% dip to $0.3189. Even Dogecoin , known for its resilient community, couldn't escape the pullback, plunging 15.13% to $0.0416.

Interestingly, XRP saw a small 0.35% bump, marking one of the few bright spots in an otherwise bleak market. 

The crypto slump seems to track a narrowing gap between Trump and Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris on prediction platforms like PredictIt, Polymarket, and Kalshi, where people place bets on election results.

Harris’ odds jumped up to nearly 39% from 33%, while Trump’s odds dipped but still hold strong at 61%, keeping him as the leading candidate. A Trump win is expected to be a boost for Bitcoin, while a Harris victory might bring some regulatory uncertainty.

Bitcoin's drop was also driven by a wave of profit-taking ahead of the weekend, triggering a broader market pullback that wiped out over $250 million in long positions. Meanwhile, the popular Fear and Greed Index—a tool for tracking market sentiment and volatility—flashed "extreme greed" on Thursday, a level often seen at market peaks.

This index captures the market’s emotional swings, suggesting that while “extreme fear” can mean buying opportunities, “extreme greed” might hint at a coming correction. 

Elsewhere, Bitcoin futures racked up $88 million in losses, while ether futures lost $44 million, and SOL and DOGE futures each saw close to $15 million wiped out, according to CoinGlass data.

Source: Investing.com