Bitcoin traded around $82,450 on Friday and was on course for a weekly decline of nearly 3%. Rising oil prices, expectations of tighter U.S. monetary policy and a Ledger investigation weighed on sentiment.
Bitcoin was trading around $82,450 on Friday as rising oil prices, expectations of tighter U.S. monetary policy and renewed security concerns weighed on investor sentiment.
The largest cryptocurrency was on course for a weekly decline of nearly 3%, having approached $87,000 on Sunday before losing ground through the week. Early Saturday it was up 0.53% over 24 hours at $82,674.5.
Fed outlook keeps pressure on crypto
Investors are reassessing U.S. monetary policy ahead of key inflation data. September's consumer price index and producer price index reports, scheduled for next week, will provide further indications of whether the Federal Reserve could resume raising interest rates.
Markets currently expect the central bank to hold rates at the October 27-28 meeting, with a potential 25-basis-point increase in December. Higher rates tend to reduce demand for speculative assets such as Bitcoin, as investors seek returns from traditional fixed-income investments.
Ledger probes missing crypto
Ledger, the maker of a hardware wallet, launched an investigation into reports of missing cryptocurrency linked to devices sold through a Southeast Asian reseller. Blockchain investigators estimated potential losses of $86 million to $93.4 million, although Ledger has not confirmed the amounts or determined the cause.
The company asked reseller CryptoBilis to suspend sales and shipments pending the investigation. There is no confirmed evidence that Ledger's own systems were compromised.
Strategy's preferred shares and Ether
Corporate demand stayed in focus. Strategy's high-yield preferred shares, STRC, climbed to $99.71 on Friday, their highest level since June. A move above $100 could allow the company to issue additional preferred shares to finance further Bitcoin purchases.
Ether, meanwhile, rose 0.29% over 24 hours but remained down approximately 7% for the week, underperforming Bitcoin.
Source: Investing.com
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