Oil prices turn lower as Bessent says U.S. may have Iran deal "today or tomorrow"

Investing.com -- Bitcoin edged lower on Friday, trading below $62,000 as uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path and lingering geopolitical tensions in the Middle East kept investors on the sidelines despite a sharp rally in AI-linked technology stocks.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency was last down 2.7% to $62,995.8 by 17:34 ET (21:34 GMT). But for the month, Bitcoin was set for a more than 7% increase, bouncing back after a more than 20% wipeout in June.

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Traders weigh Fed rate outlook, Iran war risks

Bitcoin showed little reaction following the Fed’s decision earlier this week to leave interest rates unchanged.

While policymakers kept borrowing costs steady, investors were left with few clues on the timing of future moves.

The muted move in bitcoin contrasted with a strong rebound in global technology stocks, led by upbeat earnings from Microsoft that reignited optimism around artificial intelligence spending.

U.S. stocks rallied sharply overnight and then backed that up on Friday, although crypto assets largely failed to participate in the risk-on move.

Market participants also remained wary of escalating tensions in the Middle East after recent U.S.-Iran hostilities, which have kept oil prices elevated and reinforced concerns that persistent inflation could delay monetary easing.

Higher energy prices are seen as a risk to the inflation outlook, potentially limiting the Fed’s room to cut rates later this year.

Institutional demand presented a mixed picture. Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have seen volatile flows in recent sessions after a prolonged stretch of inflows was interrupted by sizeable withdrawals as investors reassessed the outlook for interest rates.

Strategy, Coinbase quarterly results in focus

Investors also digested quarterly results from two closely watched crypto-linked companies.

Strategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, posted a second-quarter loss of $8.22 billion as lower Bitcoin prices forced large mark-to-market losses under fair-value accounting, although the company increased its Bitcoin holdings by about 11% during the quarter. Class A shares of Strategy ended 4.6% lower on Friday.

Meanwhile, Coinbase Global’s class A shares fell 10.6% after the U.S. crypto exchange reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and weaker revenue as subdued digital asset trading volumes weighed on transaction income.

Crypto price today: Ether soars more than 18% for the month

Looking at broader crypto prices, most altcoins tracked Bitcoin lower. For the month, altcoins were set to be a mixed bag.

World no.2 crypto Ethereum shed 2.9% to $1,862.42, but had surged more than 18% for July.

World no. 3 crypto XRP eased 1.9% to $1.0643, and had gained 2.3% for the month.

Cardano and Solana declined 1.2% and 2%, respectively. The latter was also down around 0.9% for July. But Cardano had jumped above 16% for the month.

Among meme tokens, Dogecoin ticked 1.1% lower, and had lost 3.3% for the month.

Vahid Karaahmetovic and Anuron Mitra contributed to this article

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