Bitcoin fell below the $64,000 mark on Friday as investors stayed cautious amid uncertainty over the U.S. Federal Reserve’s future rate decisions and ongoing geopolitical risks in the Middle East, despite strong gains across artificial intelligence-related technology stocks.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency was last down 1.59 percent at $63,689 by 10:27 GMT.
Bitcoin was on track for a nearly 9 percent monthly gain in July, recovering after a sharp decline of more than 20 percent in the previous month.
Bitcoin remains muted amid AI stock rally
Bitcoin showed little momentum after the U.S. Federal Reserve opted to keep interest rates unchanged earlier this week, with investors still lacking clarity on the central bank’s timeline for future policy adjustments.
The cryptocurrency’s muted response came in contrast to a sharp recovery in global technology stocks, fueled by strong earnings from Microsoft that boosted confidence in continued artificial intelligence investment.
U.S. equities surged overnight, with the Nasdaq gaining nearly 3 percent, though digital assets largely missed out on the broader risk appetite. Asian markets extended the rally on Friday, with South Korea’s KOSPI jumping more than 16 percent.
Institutional appetite for Bitcoin remains uneven
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious over rising tensions in the Middle East following renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities. The geopolitical uncertainty has supported elevated oil prices and raised concerns that persistent inflationary pressures could delay potential monetary easing.
Higher energy prices have emerged as a potential threat to the inflation outlook, which could constrain the Federal Reserve’s ability to lower interest rates later this year.
Institutional appetite for Bitcoin remained uneven, with exchange-traded fund flows fluctuating in recent sessions. A prolonged period of inflows was disrupted by significant outflows as investors reassessed expectations for the future path of interest rates.
Read: Bitcoin climbs above $64,00 ahead of Fed rate decision
Crypto firms post losses
Investors also assessed quarterly results from two major cryptocurrency-related companies.
Strategy Inc., the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, reported a second-quarter loss of $8.22 billion after a decline in Bitcoin prices triggered substantial mark-to-market losses under fair-value accounting rules. However, the company expanded its Bitcoin holdings by around 11 percent during the quarter.
Shares of Coinbase Global slipped in after-hours trading after the U.S.-based crypto exchange posted a larger-than-expected quarterly loss and weaker revenue, as softer digital asset trading activity weighed on transaction income.
As Bitcoin declined, most major altcoins moved lower on Friday but remained within narrow trading ranges.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, edged down 1.58 percent to $1,888, while XRP, the third-largest, fell 0.64 percent to $1.0723.
Solana eased 0.42 percent to $73.6, while Cardano outperformed with a 3.54 percent rise. Among meme tokens, Dogecoin edged 0.71 percent lower
