Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) bounced off a 16-month low during Asian trading on Friday, but remained on course for a sharp weekly decline as a risk-averse mood—driven by uncertainty over U.S. monetary policy—continued to weigh on cryptocurrency markets.
The recovery did little to change the broader picture after major corporate holder Strategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR) reported a much larger fourth-quarter loss on Thursday, largely due to the falling value of its Bitcoin holdings.
Bitcoin was up around 5% at $66,144.7 by 01:48 ET (06:48 GMT), rebounding from an intraday low of $60,187.0. Even so, the world’s largest cryptocurrency has now lost more than half its value from the record high reached in October and has erased all gains recorded since Donald Trump’s election victory in late 2024.
Bitcoin on track for 16% weekly fall, third consecutive decline
Despite Friday’s bounce, Bitcoin was heading for its third straight weekly loss and was down close to 16% over the week.
Cryptocurrencies have been hit by a broader flight from riskier assets in recent weeks, with selling pressure intensifying after Trump nominated Kevin Warsh as his choice for the next chair of the Federal Reserve. Warsh is widely seen as less dovish, having previously opposed the Fed’s asset-purchase programmes.
Expectations that a Warsh-led Fed would maintain a leaner balance sheet have raised fears of tighter monetary conditions over the longer term—an environment that typically weighs on speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies. Investors responded to the nomination by cutting exposure to risk-driven assets across markets.
The downturn in U.S. technology stocks—often closely correlated with crypto price movements—has also spilled over into digital assets, adding to the pressure.
Strategy posts sharply wider Q4 loss amid Bitcoin weakness
Strategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR) reported a fourth-quarter loss of $12.4 billion on Thursday, a dramatic increase from the $670.8 million loss recorded a year earlier.
The result was largely driven by persistent weakness in Bitcoin prices since October. The cryptocurrency has struggled to regain momentum following a sharp selloff late that month, which unsettled broader markets.
As of February 1, Strategy held 713,502 Bitcoins at an average purchase cost of $54.26 billion, or $76,052 per Bitcoin. With Bitcoin now trading below that average cost, investor concerns have grown that the company could be forced to sell part of its holdings to service debt obligations.
Led by prominent Bitcoin advocate Michael Saylor, Strategy has financed its aggressive accumulation of Bitcoin through a combination of debt issuance and equity sales.
Crypto prices today: altcoins also set for weekly losses
Other cryptocurrencies followed Bitcoin higher on Friday but were still nursing heavy losses for the week.
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, rose nearly 5% to $1,916.62, though it remained down about 22% over the week. XRP and BNB gained 7% and 3% respectively on the day, but both were down roughly 20% on a weekly basis.
Solana was heading for a weekly decline of around 24%, while Cardano was lower by about 13.5%. Among memecoins, Dogecoin was down roughly 13% for the week, while $TRUMP had fallen by around 23%.