Bitcoin inched higher on Monday after a difficult week, though the cryptocurrency continued to face pressure from heavy institutional outflows and uncertainty surrounding the Federal Reserve’s December policy path.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency traded 1.4% higher at $87,050.5 by 01:25 ET (06:25 GMT). This small rebound followed a drop of more than 10% last week, which pushed Bitcoin to seven-month lows near the $80,000 level.
Bitcoin ETF outflows continue
Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin briefly fell to $88,610.4 before recovering above $90,000.
Data showed that U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs saw another week of redemptions, marking a fourth straight week of outflows. SoSoValue reported net withdrawals of $1.22 billion for the week ending Nov. 21, bringing total outflows over the past month to around $4.34 billion.
Despite the withdrawals, trading activity surged. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs registered record weekly volumes above $40 billion, a sign analysts interpret as growing “institutional capitulation.”
Fed uncertainty remains despite rising cut expectations
Macro conditions continue to weigh on sentiment. Market pricing now assigns roughly a 70% chance of a December Fed rate cut, up sharply from 44% the previous week.
However, several Federal Reserve officials remain cautious, arguing that inflation is still high and the labor market remains firm. Their comments have left traders unsure about how much easing is actually likely.
Uncertainty has been compounded by the recent U.S. federal government shutdown, which delayed key economic reports. The lack of fresh data has left markets without clear signals ahead of major releases such as retail sales and producer price figures due later this week.
Crypto prices today: altcoins attempt a rebound
Most major altcoins posted modest gains on Monday after steep declines last week, though overall sentiment stayed cautious.
Ethereum rose 1.2% to $2,842.88.
XRP gained 1.7% to $2.07.
Solana climbed 1.8%, while Cardano added 0.8%. Polygon slipped 0.6%.
Among meme tokens, Dogecoin advanced more than 2%.
