Bitcoin has continued its decline just one week before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, falling below $92,000.
The leading cryptocurrency briefly dropped below $91,000 on Monday morning before regaining some ground.
This decline, driven by speculation that the US Federal Reserve’s window for further interest-rate cuts is closing, has also impacted the broader cryptocurrency market.
As of 2:34 p.m. Nigerian time on Monday, Bitcoin was down roughly 3% at $91,400.96.
Bitcoin, which reached a record $108,316 last month, was trading at about $94,800 as of 2:23 a.m. on Tuesday in Nigeria. The token’s advance since the US Election Day has moderated to roughly 40%.
Other cryptocurrencies also experienced declines at the start of the week. Ethereum’s native token, Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by volume, fell more than 5% to $3,083.01 apiece; Solana dropped nearly 6%; Elon Musk’s preferred digital asset, Dogecoin, decreased almost 5%; and Cardano plunged nearly 8%.
Investors are concerned
Investors are concerned about a prolonged Federal Reserve rate pause due to US economic resilience and the risk of inflationary tariff and immigration policies from President-elect Donald Trump, who will be sworn in next week.
ByteTree Asset Management Chief Investment Officer Charlie Morris noted, “It makes little sense to try to call a turn until markets get a sense of what the new administration will really mean. We can assume it is pro-crypto, but we cannot escape the fact that major financial markets are richly priced, with the tech sector vulnerable to a pullback.”
What you should know
The president-elect has appointed Paul Atkins, a cryptocurrency advocate, to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission following Gary Gensler’s departure—a move welcomed by the crypto industry.
- Atkins, who now leads the consulting firm Patomak Global Partners, has chaired The Digital Chamber’s Token Alliance since 2017, advocating best practices and recommending legal frameworks that promote the crypto industry.
- Investors are hopeful that Trump will spur the adoption and legitimization of digital assets. On the campaign trail, he called for a strategic national Bitcoin reserve, declared that all Bitcoin should be mined in the US, and attached his name to multiple crypto projects.
- Many in the crypto community believe this is a corrective phase and are optimistic about an enduring boom under Trump.
All eyes are now on the cryptocurrency markets as the United States prepares for Donald Trump’s inauguration on 20 January.
