Bitcoin spent the weekend under steady pressure after sinking to a six-month low, dragged down by another wave of risk aversion sweeping through global markets.
The slide capped a bruising week for crypto and equities alike. Hopes for a Federal Reserve rate cut at the next policy meeting have thinned out, and that shift in expectations has rippled through every corner of the risk-asset world.
By Sunday afternoon, Bitcoin was trading around $95,612 at 13:40 GMT, only a touch above its earlier dip to $95,885, its weakest level since early May. The move followed days of heavy selling as investors dialled back their appetite for anything remotely punchy.
The mood wasn’t helped by remarks from Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid, who became the latest central bank voice to pour cold water on the idea of a December rate cut. He warned that his worries over inflation stretch well beyond the effects of tariffs. Markets reacted fast, trimming the probability of a December cut to roughly 40% from almost 90% earlier in the month.
Although US equities found a little relief late on Friday, nerves stayed taut heading into a data-packed week. Washington’s 43-day government shutdown has ended, and the backlog of economic releases is set to land in quick succession.
Crypto traders were already rattled. Bitcoin’s drop of more than 20% in a little over a month puts it firmly in bear-market territory. Exchange-traded funds tied to the asset class saw $870 million worth of redemptions on Thursday alone, adding to the sense of strain.
The wider crypto market has shed more than a trillion dollars in value since peaking on 7 October, a fall of roughly 24%. Analysts say long-term holders are taking the opportunity to cash in. Data from Glassnode suggests they have offloaded 815,000 coins over the past 30 days, the heaviest round of profit-taking since January last year.
With rate-cut hopes fading and sentiment turning defensive, traders are bracing for another unsettled week across markets.
