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

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

Bitcoin steadied on Thursday after falling sharply in the last week of 2024 amid concerns 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 was also subject to 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 slides below $100k in year-end rout

Bitcoin slid 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 benefited from speculation over friendlier regulations under Trump.

But it failed to hold this level amid sustained profit-taking, while traders also questioned just 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 expected to persist 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 rattled 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 such as 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%.