Bitcoin slides as Fed rate cut hopes diminish

(Bloomberg/Suvashree Ghosh and Emily Nicolle) — Bitcoin declined alongside broader risk assets Friday as receding hopes for US interest rate cuts dented investor appetite.

The largest cryptocurrency dropped to a low of $114,762, the lowest since July 11, before slightly paring those losses. Ether, the second-largest digital token, traded broadly flat and XRP was down around 3% as of 7:10 a.m. in New York.

Bitcoin had reached an all-time high of $123,205 earlier in the month, continuing a steady advance driven by optimism on the US regulatory environment and strong inflows into crypto investment products.

“The broader uptrend remains intact, but momentum has cooled and traders are cautious,” said Rachael Lucas, a crypto analyst at BTC Markets.

Stronger-than-expected US jobs data on Thursday dimmed Fed cut hopes, ending a seven-day Asian stock rally and pressuring crypto.

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The crypto market’s decline is “a healthy and necessary correction” from previous highs, according to Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro. The total value of all cryptocurrencies in circulation briefly topped $4 trillion in July, according to CoinGecko data.

Even a decline to the $3.4 trillion mark would be viewed as profit-taking, Kuptsikevich said in a note on Friday. “As long as the market remains above this level, there is no point in talking about a change in the medium-term trend,” he added.

Bearish sentiment was also evident in the derivatives market where an unidentified speculator paid about $5 million in premium on the Deribit exchange to buy Bitcoin put options expiring on Aug. 8 at the strike price of $110,000, according to prime broker FalconX, which facilitated the trade.

“We expect to see further consolidation while Bitcoin remains below monthly trendline resistance, currently at around $125,000, which capped Bitcoin’s advance last week,” said Tony Sycamore an analyst at IG Australia.

(Updates prices in second paragraph, adds context and reaction in the fifth and sixth paragraphs.)

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