
Bitcoin fell more than 6% to its weakest level in six months on Friday, as growing uncertainty about the US economy dampened expectations for an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in December.
The largest cryptocurrency was trading at $97,190 at 07:05 GMT, around its weakest level since May. Data from CoinMarketCap showed that the global market value of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, fell by about 6.9% in the past 24 hours to $3.26 trillion.
Bitcoin's market capitalization fell 5.8% in the past 24 hours to $1.94 trillion, while daily trading volume increased by about 50% to $111.1 billion. However, Bitcoin has grown by approximately 4.1% since the beginning of 2025, AA reports.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, fell about 9% to $3,220.
The sell-off was largely driven by uncertainty over the U.S. economic outlook. Markets cut bets on a Federal Reserve interest rate cut after a nearly 43-day government shutdown, which ended on Wednesday, raised concerns that key employment and inflation data for October may not be released. That has left the Federal Reserve with less information ahead of its Dec. 10-11 meeting.
According to CME FedWatch, traders were forecasting a 45.4% chance of a 25 basis point cut in December on Friday, down from a 63.8% probability a week earlier.
The lack of official economic data reduced risk appetite and weighed on speculative assets, keeping traders cautious in cryptocurrency markets. Kosovapress