Bitcoin Slightly Retreats From Near Record Highs as Optimism Over a Donald Trump Presidency Cools

The world's biggest cryptocurrency was still sitting on stellar gains for the week, as it notched record highs above $90,000 on bets that U.S. regulations will favor crypto under Trump.

Bitcoin prices retreated on Friday from recent record highs as optimism over a Donald Trump presidency cooled and broader risk appetite was hit by increased uncertainty over U.S. interest rates.

The world’s biggest cryptocurrency was still set to post stellar gains for the week, having hit a record high of over $93,000 earlier in the week on bets that U.S. regulations will favor crypto under Trump.

Bitcoin prices fell 0.6% to $90,233.0 by 09:02 ET (14:02 GMT), after hitting a record high of $93,226.6 earlier in the week. Markets were now watching for the crypto to cross $100,000, which is seen as a key level.

Bitcoin set for best week since February

Bitcoin was set to add about 17% this week - its best weekly performance since late-February. The coin was also headed for a third straight week of gains.

Gains in Bitcoin were driven chiefly by optimism over a Trump presidency, after he won the 2024 presidential elections. Institutional inflows into crypto exchange-traded funds were seen as a major driver of recent price gains.

Trump has vowed to enact more crypto-friendly regulation, and has also floated the possibility of a national Bitcoin reserve.

But optimism over Trump now appeared to have cooled, especially as traders now awaited more clarity on what his policies will entail.

Trump is also expected to enact expansionary policies that could push up inflation and keep interest rates relatively high in the coming years.

Bitcoin could hit $180K in this cycle, VanEck's head of crypto research says

VanEck's head of digital assets research Matthew Sigel said Bitcoin’s ongoing price rally could extend well into 2025. Speaking with CNBC, Sigel likened the recent surge in Bitcoin’s value, which followed Donald Trump’s presidential nomination, to the rally seen after Joe Biden’s election in 2020.

He estimated that Bitcoin’s price might double, reaching $180,000 during this bullish phase.

“As we expected, Bitcoin saw this high volatility pump after the election. We’re now in blue sky territory, no technical resistance, and we think we’re likely to make repeated all-time highs over the next two quarters,” Sigel said in an appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box. The first two financial quarters of 2025 end on March 31 and June 30, respectively.

Sigel also noted the similarities to the market dynamics of four years ago.

“The same patterns played out four years ago,” he explained. “Between the election and the end of the year in 2020, Bitcoin doubled. There were about six 10% corrections so it’s not going to be a straight line, but we're up 30% so far, and a number of indicators that we track are still flashing green for this rally to continue.”

Earlier this month, VanEck CEO Jan Van Eck remarked that Bitcoin’s price could potentially climb as high as $300,000.

Rate jitters weigh after Powell comments, inflation data

Crypto’s recent rally was stalled by heightened uncertainty over U.S. interest rates, especially after a series of strong consumer and producer inflation readings for October.

The readings were followed by comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who said that resilience in the U.S. economy gave the central bank more time to consider further interest rate cuts.

Traders were seen scaling back bets on a December rate cut following Powell’s comments, which also sparked losses in broader risk-driven assets. Wall Street retreated from record highs in the past two sessions.

The dollar and Treasury yields rose sharply this week, further pressuring risk assets.

Crypto price today: Doge heads for stellar week; ADA, XRP spike

Broader cryptocurrency prices retreated tracking Bitcoin but were mostly set for strong gains this week. World no.2 crypto Ether fell over 2% to $3,101.94.

Dogecoin was a standout performer this week, up 65%, and headed for its best week since October 2022. Social media buzz around the token rose after Trump announced the formation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which will be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

SOL and MATIC moved in a flat range on Friday, but were all sitting on strong gains over the past week. Meanwhile, XRP and ADA saw sharp surges of 23% and 17%, respectively.

Ambar Warrick contributed to this report