Bitcoin Price: Rebounds to $69k, Hindered by Rate Cut Concerns, Limiting Gains

Bitcoin’s price saw little movement in Asian trading on Monday despite a weekend rebound, with uncertainties looming over its future trajectory due to robust U.S. payrolls data diminishing prospects of early interest rate cuts.

At 00:58 ET (04:58 GMT), the world’s largest cryptocurrency remained unchanged over the past 24 hours, holding steady at $69,406 after recovering a significant portion of its weekly losses.

Despite the weekend rebound, Bitcoin continued to trade within a range established over the past month, struggling to find clear direction following its record highs in March.

The broader cryptocurrency market mirrored Bitcoin’s subdued movement as attention remained focused on developments regarding U.S. interest rates. Both Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies benefit from a low-rate, high-liquidity environment.

Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, experienced a 1% rise, while XRP, another prominent token, fell 0.4%, with both facing ongoing government scrutiny.

Market sentiment shifted as expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in June were tempered. According to the CME Fedwatch tool, traders only priced in a slim 51% chance of a 25 basis point cut in June.

Anticipation of key consumer price index inflation data for March, scheduled for release on Wednesday, added to the muted sentiment, offering little support to crypto markets. The data is anticipated to show a slight decrease in inflation, remaining above the Fed’s 2% annual target.

The prospect of higher interest rates for an extended period poses challenges for crypto markets, which typically thrive in loose monetary conditions conducive to speculative trading.

Recent strength in the crypto market, primarily driven by Bitcoin, has shown signs of slowing as the enthusiasm following the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of spot exchange-traded funds for U.S. markets in January wanes.

Traders are now turning their attention to the SEC’s decision on spot Ethereum ETFs expected in May, as well as ongoing SEC cases involving Ripple and Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN), for further insights into the crypto market.