Bitcoin hovered around the $66,500 level on Friday, with the extended holiday weekend keeping many buyers on the sidelines and leaving sellers with more influence over near-term price moves.
With CME futures and ETF markets pausing for Good Friday, the market is moving into a liquidity vacuum at a time when one of its steadiest pillars of support is already starting to fade.
As of 5:16 GMT, Bitcoin was trading 0.55 percent lower at $66,519. The world’s largest cryptocurrency was set for a 3.26 percent weekly decline on Friday.
Spot trading to impact Bitcoin prices
The long weekend is removing one of the key sources of Bitcoin’s stability. With CME shut and ETF creation and redemption on hold due to the Good Friday holiday, the institutional demand that has increasingly helped support Bitcoin’s price will be mostly missing, leaving the market in the hands of spot trading, where selling pressure has remained the strongest.
This week, Bitcoin mirrored a broader selloff in cryptocurrencies and other risk-sensitive assets after U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that military action against Iran could intensify in the coming weeks.
Trump said on Wednesday evening that the U.S. would intensify its military campaign against Iran over the next two to three weeks, adding that Washington was close to meeting its military goals. He also urged Tehran to agree to a deal or risk U.S. attacks on its energy infrastructure.
The remarks largely undermined hopes of a possible de-escalation, impacting investor sentiment, particularly surrounding risky assets. Following Trump’s latest comments, Bitcoin and other risk-sensitive assets came under pressure, with Asian equities and Wall Street futures posting steep losses.
Read: Bitcoin falls over 2 percent to $66,543 as investor uncertainty pressures risk assets
Spot Bitcoin ETFs attract $1.2 billion in net inflows in March
In March, Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded their first month of net inflows since October, according to data from SoSoValue. Spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $1.2 billion in net inflows during March, ending a four-month streak of persistent outflows. The turnaround came even as Bitcoin had fallen by as much as 50 percent from its October all-time high.
The cryptocurrency also held up better than other speculative assets in March, posting modest gains while stocks, precious metals and other risk-sensitive sectors suffered sharp declines.
Broader crypto prices were mixed on Friday. Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, declined 0.1 percent to $2,050.74, while XRP gained 0.1 percent to $1.32.
Solana fell to $79.20, while BNB held steady at $585.42. Meanwhile, Cardano gained 0.3 percent to $0.2423.
Among memecoins, Dogecoin held steady, while $TRUMP rose 0.08 percent to $2.878.
