Bitcoin slips to $73,300 after brief rebound above $74,500 as Fed tightening fears weigh on sentiment

Bitcoin slipped to around $73,300 on Thursday after briefly rebounding above $74,500, as expectations of further Federal Reserve tightening continued to weigh on market sentiment. The cryptocurrency was trading at $73,367.

Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin and Ethereum declined 0.86% and 0.81%, respectively. Among major altcoins, BNB, XRP, Solana, Tron, Hyperliquid, Dogecoin and Cardano fell by up to 1.96%.

Prateek Gupta, Head of Business, Mudrex said markets are now pricing an 87% chance of a quarter-point hike in December, while odds of a larger half-point move have risen to about 13% following this week’s inflation data.



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Traders are also positioning for Friday’s Deribit options expiry, with $74,000 put contracts the most actively traded, signalling strong demand for downside protection, Gupta further said.

The global crypto market capitalisation went down 0.78% to $2.44 trillion, according to the data on Coinmarketcap.

Nischal Shetty, Founder, WazirX said crypto markets attempted to stabilize as stronger US equities and lower volatility provided some support, although persistent inflation, a stronger dollar and continued ETF withdrawals kept participation measured.

Bitcoin and Ethereum holding near key support despite these outflows suggests spot buying absorbed part of the pressure, although a broader recovery would require more consistent institutional and market participation, Shetty further said.

Over the last week, Bitcoin was down 8.50% and Ethereum was down 15.39%. Among the major altcoins, BNB, XRP, Solana, Dogecoin, Tron, Hyperliquid and Cardano corrected upto 20.31%.

CoinSwitch Markets Desk said BTC remains under pressure, trading around 73.5K–74K as stronger-than-expected US inflation and employment data reinforce expectations of another Federal Reserve rate hike.

ETF flows, Treasury yields and upcoming Fed commentary will remain key market drivers, CoinSwitch Markets Desk further said.

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Market commentary

Riya Sehgal, Research Analyst, Delta Exchange: Bitcoin and Ethereum continue to face selling pressure, with both assets trading below their declining moving averages on the 4-hour chart. Markets will now focus on the upcoming US PPI release for further inflation signals. Overall, despite selective whale accumulation and a recovery in US equities, weak price structures and macroeconomic uncertainty keep the short-term crypto outlook cautious.

Avinash Shekhar, Co-founder & CEO, Pi42: The cryptocurrency market continues to witness cautious trading, with Bitcoin holding near $73,600 and Ethereum trading around $2,050. Despite a marginal increase in overall market capitalisation, buying momentum remains limited, while Bitcoin’s dominance of over 58% indicates that market activity continues to be concentrated around established digital assets.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)