A bitcoin rally is fizzling in the final days of a record-breaking year for the digital asset, as investors assess the remaining impetus from US president-elect Donald Trump’s embrace of the cryptocurrency sector.
The largest token changed hands at US$95,600 as of 8.45am Friday in Hong Kong, holding a retreat of almost 3 per cent from a day earlier. Smaller rivals including ether and dogecoin, a favourite of the meme crowd, struggled for traction.
Trump is pushing ahead with a promise to create a crypto-friendly environment in the US and has backed the idea of establishing a national bitcoin reserve. Traders are waiting to see if such a stockpile is feasible.
The crypto market is also braced for the expiry of a substantial quantity of bitcoin and ether options contracts on Friday – one of the biggest such events in the history of digital assets, according to prime broker FalconX.
Sean McNulty, director of trading at liquidity provider Arbelos Markets, flagged the risk of a “choppy market” amid the expiry of the derivatives positions.
Bitcoin is wavering even after MicroStrategy this week signalled the possibility of expanding its programme of purchases of the token. The US company has transformed itself from a software maker into a bitcoin accumulator and now owns more than US$40 billion of the digital asset.
