Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) sank below the key $100,000 mark on Friday, sliding in tandem with a broader pullback in high-risk assets as traders increasingly doubted the likelihood of the Federal Reserve delivering a rate cut in December.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency was also poised to notch its third straight weekly decline, with institutional participation weakening noticeably.
By 00:00 ET, Bitcoin had fallen 4.2% to $97,795.5—its lowest reading since May—after briefly touching an intraday trough of $96,866.1.
Rate-cut hopes cool as uncertainty clouds the U.S. outlook
Expectations for a December rate cut collapsed over the past week amid mounting unease surrounding the health of the U.S. economy.
A nearly 43-day government shutdown—only resolved on Wednesday—created a major blind spot for policymakers. Officials have warned that October inflation and employment data may never be released due to the disruption, complicating the Fed’s December decision and raising the likelihood that interest rates remain unchanged.
According to CME’s FedWatch tool, markets now assign just a 45.4% chance of a 25-basis-point cut at the December 10–11 meeting, down sharply from 63.8% only a week ago.
The absence of reliable data has further eroded risk appetite, prompting traders to shy away from speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin set for its third weekly loss as institutional flows weaken
Bitcoin was down more than 4% for the week and headed for a third consecutive weekly decline, weighed down by waning institutional demand.
Data from SoSoValue showed that U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded almost $897 million in outflows on Thursday, also marking their third straight week of withdrawals.
Large players appeared reluctant to re-enter the market as Bitcoin drifted in a narrow trading band through late October and early November.
Crypto market today: broad selloff hits altcoins
Altcoins mirrored Bitcoin’s slide, with most major tokens tracking weekly losses as the broader crypto market struggled to find support.
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, tumbled 9.3% to $3,161.68 and was more than 7% lower for the week. BNB dropped 5.4% and was similarly down about 7%, while XRP fell 8%.
Solana and Cardano retreated between 8.5% and 9%. Among meme-tokens, Dogecoin and $TRUMP both slumped more than 7%.