Bitcoin prices declined during Asian trading on Friday, giving up part of this week’s gains after U.S. lawmakers postponed discussions on a highly anticipated bill aimed at setting a clear regulatory framework for digital assets.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency had climbed as high as $96,000 earlier in the week, but the rally lost momentum as overall sentiment across crypto markets remained subdued. By 09:43 ET (14:43 GMT), Bitcoin was down 0.8% at $95,192. Despite the pullback, Bitcoin was still up around 5% for the week, recovering from a slow start to the year.
U.S. delays crypto bill following industry pushback
Earlier this week, U.S. legislators delayed key talks on the proposed crypto regulation bill after opposition from Coinbase Global. The exchange voiced concerns over aspects of the legislation in its current form.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong criticized the bill’s approach to stablecoins, arguing that it restricts crypto firms from offering yields or rewards on customer stablecoin holdings. While optimism around the bill had supported Bitcoin prices earlier in the week—on hopes it would bring long-awaited regulatory clarity—parts of the crypto community pushed back against the stablecoin provisions.
Coinbase was also a major political donor during the 2024 election cycle and is widely seen as having significant influence over crypto-related policymaking in the United States.
Bitcoin still eyes weekly gains
Despite Friday’s dip, Bitcoin remained on track for a weekly gain of roughly 5%, helped in part by bargain buying after a quiet start to the year. A significant portion of the rally followed a disclosure from Strategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, which revealed a purchase of more than $1 billion worth of the cryptocurrency. The move revived hopes of stronger institutional demand.
However, retail interest continued to lag. Bitcoin has been trading at a discount on Coinbase compared with global averages, suggesting that U.S. retail sentiment—the largest crypto market—remains cautious.
Altcoins struggle but hold weekly advances
Altcoins mostly tracked Bitcoin lower on Friday but were still posting weekly gains, supported by bargain hunting and lingering optimism over U.S. regulatory clarity.
Ethereum slipped 1.4% on the day but was up 5.7% for the week. XRP fell 1.9% and was down nearly 1% on the week, while Solana was mostly flat on Friday and up 2.7% for the week.
BNB edged slightly lower but remained up 3% on a weekly basis. Cardano dropped 4% and was flat for the week.
Among memecoins, Dogecoin declined 3.4%, while $TRUMP slipped 1.2%.
