Bitcoin Steadies After Falling Sharply in the Last Week of 2024 as Traders Fret Over the Regulatory Outlook for Crypto Under Incoming President Donald Trump

Broader risk appetite was also stymied by losses on Wall Street, as the prospect of slower rate cuts in 2025 sparked some profit-taking towards the end of the year.

Bitcoin steadied on Thursday after sliding sharply in the last week of 2024, as traders fretted over the outlook for crypto regulation under incoming President Donald Trump.

Broader risk appetite was also stymied by losses on Wall Street, as the prospect of slower rate cuts in 2025 sparked some profit-taking towards the end of the year.

Bitcoin was also subject to some profit-taking after rallying over 100% in 2024, with a bulk of its gains coming after Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency rose 1.8% to $95,469.5 by 00:12 ET (05:12 GMT), after falling as low as $92,000 in the past week.

Bitcoin slid below $100k in year-end rout

Bitcoin slipped below the coveted $100,000 level over the past week, as traders locked in some profits at the end of the year.

The crypto had surged to a record high of over $108,000 earlier in December, as it stood to benefit from speculation over friendlier regulations under Trump.

However, it failed to hold this level蹉s sustained profit-taking continued, while traders also remained skeptical of what Trump’s policies will entail for crypto.

Trump pledged to enact friendlier regulations for the crypto industry, and nominated a slew of crypto-friendly candidates for key regulatory positions, especially the Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

But doubts emerged over his other promises, particularly his vow to establish a Strategic Bitcoin reserve.

Doubts over Trump’s policies are set to continue as he takes office later in January.

Crypto price today: altcoins rebound from year-end losses

Broader cryptocurrency prices rose sharply as they recovered some of their losses over the past week.

World no.2 crypto Ethereum rose 2.1% to $3,411.12, while world no.3 token XRP jumped 13.7% to $2.3904.

Risk appetite was also hit by the prospect of slower interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in 2025, after the bank signaled as much during its December meeting. The Fed cited uncertainty over sticky inflation and a change in administration in the White House.

Higher rates bode poorly for speculative assets like crypto, given that they limit the amount of capital that can be deployed for investment in such assets.

Among other altcoins, Solana, Cardano and Polygon rose between 6% to 10%, while among meme tokens, Dogecoin added 5%.