Investing.com — Bitcoin's price moved slightly on Thursday after a choppy session, as the Federal Reserve's expectations for longer interest rate hikes largely overshadowed some signs of slowing inflation in the near term.
It rose 0.4% over the past 24 hours to $67,484.6 by 02:05 ET (06:05 GMT). The coin has seen extreme volatility this week, rising as much as $70,000 before falling sharply.
Bitcoin's range is limited as the Fed expects to cut interest rates only once this year
Traders have largely remained averse to Bitcoin and broader cryptocurrencies in the face of higher US interest rates for longer.
While the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, as expected, Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank now sees the possibility of cutting interest rates only once this year, compared to previous expectations of three cuts.
Many policymakers have also called for no interest rate cuts this year, noting that more progress must be made in lowering inflation. The Federal Reserve also raised its inflation forecasts for this year.
The Federal Reserve's comments came after data released earlier on Wednesday showed US consumer price inflation fell slightly more than expected in May. While Bitcoin saw some gains after the inflation reading, it lost ground after the Fed's comments.
High rates do not bode well for speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies, since they limit the amount of liquidity available to invest in this sector. While recent capital flows data has shown that institutional investors are still pumping some money into cryptocurrencies, this has barely been reflected in token prices.
The focus is now on inflation data for further signals on US inflation. The reading is scheduled to take place later Thursday.
Cryptocurrency Price Today: Altcoins are drifting lower amid price volatility
The prospect of higher US interest rates for a longer period has also weighed on broader cryptocurrency prices.
The global No. 2 coin fell 0.3% to $3,499.09, giving up more of its gains from the previous month.
It rose between 0.6% and 1.7%, but its trading was low during the week.
Among tokens, it fell by 1.6% while rising by 3%. But sentiment toward the two has cooled largely in tandem with waning interest in meme stocks on Wall Street.
GameStop Inc (NYSE:) lost more ground on Wednesday and wiped out most of the rally seen in late May.
