Bitcoin was headed for a two-day win streak on Friday, benefiting from some dip-buying on recent declines, although sentiment towards cryptocurrencies remained under pressure from interest rate uncertainties and geopolitical risks.
Traders also assessed whether the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs would have any impact on speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies.
The world’s largest crypto was set for a weekly loss after a brief recovery from last week largely ran out of steam. It was also nursing a 23.6% loss so far in 2026.
Bitcoin gained 1.8% to $68,154.2 by 18:01 ET (23:01 GMT). The crypto was trading down 2.5% this week, and was set to lose for five of the past seven weeks.
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Inflation remained firm in December, U.S. growth slowed in Q4 Bitcoin and broader crypto prices clocked extended losses this week as appetite for speculative assets was battered by growing uncertainty over U.S. interest rates.
This came to a head on Wednesday after the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s January meeting showed several policymakers in support of interest rate hikes to curb inflationary risks – a scenario that bodes poorly for speculative assets.
A swathe of mixed inflation and labor market readings also spurred more uncertainty over the outlook for rates. Cryptos are extremely vulnerable to higher rates, given that they tend to thrive in high-liquidity markets.
But fresh data published on Friday lent further support to the Fed holding rates steady, with a hotter-than-expected inflation reading and slower-than-anticipated economic growth.
U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at an annualized pace of 1.4%, according to seasonally and inflation-adjusted figures from the Commerce Department, below the consensus figure of 2.8%.
Meanwhile, the core PCE price index — the Fed’s preferred gauge that strips out food and energy — rose 3.0% Y/Y in December, well above the central bank’s 2% objective.
Also complicating the outlook for rate cuts was a long-awaited Supreme Court opinion that said Trump did not have authority to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose his reciprocal tariffs last year.
Iran tensions hurt risk appetite Adding to the risk aversion was heightened geopolitical uncertainty between the U.S. and Iran. Trump kept up his threats of military action against the Middle Eastern country if it did not accept a nuclear deal with the United States.
A host of reports this week showed the U.S. considering several military options against Iran, with Washington having already deployed its forces in the region.
The geopolitical tensions sapped risk appetite for cryptos, especially Bitcoin, and saw traders stick to the dollar and gold as havens.
Crypto price today: altcoins set for weekly declines Broader crypto prices were mostly higher on Friday, but most altcoins were nursing another week of losses.
