Investing.com — Bitcoin fell on Monday and traded in a narrow range after posting sharp losses last week, as traders remained cautious amid macroeconomic pressures stemming from hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve.
It fell about 2% to $95,278.0 by 08:46 ET (13:46 GMT).
It fell below the $100,000 level on Thursday after Federal Reserve officials signaled a slowdown in the pace of future cuts. The world's largest cryptocurrency has fallen for five out of the past six days.
Fed's hawkish shift pulls Bitcoin off record highs
The Fed signaled a more hawkish stance, signaling just two rate cuts for next year, compared to previous expectations of two cuts.
This shift has led investors to reevaluate their positions in speculative assets such as Bitcoin, which has contributed to a decline in their prices.
Meanwhile, incoming US President Donald Trump congratulated the cryptocurrency market on reaching a record peak of over $108,000, while speaking at an event in Phoenix.
Profit taking also affected Bitcoin after it rose to record levels last week. The prospect of a strategic reserve of Bitcoin pushed prices to an all-time high of $108,244.9 on Tuesday, after which prices fell steadily.
This was Bitcoin's first weekly decline since Trump won the election.
Trump nominates key crypto policy figures
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated key figures for defense and cryptocurrency policy in his next administration.
Michael Kratsios has been nominated to lead the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Kratsios, who previously worked at Scale AI, held technology-related positions in Trump's first term and participated in the federal downsizing initiative led by Elon Musk.
Lynn Parker, a former deputy to Kratsios, will chair the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), and Beau Haynes, a former athlete and Republican congressional candidate, will lead the new cryptocurrency council.
Both chambers will report to David Sachs, the “crypto czar,” who will divide his time between the White House and Silicon Valley.
Trump's truth-telling social media posts on Sunday highlighted these and other personal announcements as he prepares for his inauguration next month.
Cryptocurrency Price Today: Altcoins are in the red as liquidity concerns persist
Other cryptocurrencies fell largely on Monday but moved in a near range as investors were still assessing the outlook for speculative assets after a hawkish Federal Reserve rattled investor sentiment.
Most altcoins have fallen for several sessions in a row, in line with Bitcoin's movement.
The world's No. 2 cryptocurrency fell to $3,310.15, while the world's No. 3 cryptocurrency fell 4% to $2,178.
On the other hand, it lost 2.4%, fell 3.1%, and fell 3.4%.
Among tokens, it fell by 3.5%.
North Korean hackers stole over $1.3 billion worth of cryptocurrencies in 2024, report shows.
In other cryptocurrency news, North Korean hackers are believed to be behind 61% of cryptocurrency thefts this year, according to Chainalogy.
A recent report from a blockchain analysis firm highlights that North Korea-linked hackers stole around $660.5 million across 20 incidents in 2023. In 2024, this number rose to $1.34 billion across 47 incidents, representing a 102.88% jump. This represents the highest annual total ever attributed to hackers from the country.
So far this year, North Korean actors have been linked to 47 cryptocurrency hacks, accounting for about two-thirds of all such incidents.
