Investing.com– Bitcoin fell in Asian trade on Friday after a short-lived rally past the coveted $100,000 level, as anticipation of more cues on U.S. interest rates spurred some profit-taking.
The world’s biggest cryptocurrency surged to record highs on Thursday amid increased optimism over friendlier crypto regulations under incoming President Donald Trump. Traders were particularly cheered by Trump’s pick of a pro-crypto candidate to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Bitcoin fell 4.5% to $97,830.3 by 00:43 ET (05:43 GMT). The coin had fallen as low as $91,000 after hitting a record high of $103,719.4.
Broader crypto moves were limited on Friday in anticipation of more cues on U.S. interest rates from key nonfarm payrolls data due later in the day.
Trump picks David Sacks as White House AI and crypto czar
Continuing his trend of crypto-friendly cabinet picks, Trump on Thursday said venture capitalist David Sacks will take up a newly created role to advise the White House on crypto and artificial intelligence regulation.
This follows the creation of a crypto advisory council, while Trump’s picks for the Treasury Secretary and Secretary of Commerce were also seen in support of deregulation and digital assets.
Earlier this week, Trump nominated former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins to lead the agency. Atkins is also pro-crypto, and is expected to end, or at least taper the SEC’s two-year regulatory crusade against crypto.
Bitcoin dominance could wane under friendlier regulations- Citi
Citi analysts warned in a recent note that while they did see positive regulatory and macroeconomic trends for crypto, Bitcoin’s dominance of crypto markets could taper off with the industry gaining more regulatory clarity.
Citi said that regulatory clarity could open the door for more crypto use cases, enabling other, smaller coins and tokens with actual use cases. They noted that Bitcoin was already treated as a commodity, limiting its usage.
“Over the long-term, we think a network’s utility or value will be related to usage, as well as macro correlations and production costs,” Citi analysts said, while noting that such a scenario would benefit Bitcoin less than other cryptos. The brokerage also joined several of its peers in downplaying Bitcoin’s prospect as a reserve asset.
Crypto price today: altcoins track Bitcoin losses, set for strong week
Most broader crypto prices moved in a tight range on Friday, seeing some pressure from losses in Bitcoin. But they were set to outpace Bitcoin for the week.
World no.2 crypto Ether rose 1.8% to $3,918.19, and was trading up 3.5% this week.
XRP– which was the biggest beneficiary of speculation over the next SEC head, rose 1.8% and was sitting on a 21% gain this week- its fifth straight week of outsized gains.
XRP hit a six-year high on speculation that the SEC will drop its long-running lawsuit against issuer Ripple.
Solana, Cardano and Polygon were muted on Friday. Among meme tokens, Dogecoin fell 2.1%.
