Bitcoin was slipping again on Monday. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has struggled to maintain momentum since it passed $100,000 for the first time last week, but bulls are hopeful that the rally will reignite soon.
The token slid 1.3% to $98,585 in early trading. It’s now trading more than 5% off its previous record high of $103,853.
Crypto-related stocks were also slipping on Monday. Shares in business-intelligence company MicroStrategy, which has sold shares and convertible debt to fund a Bitcoin spending spree in recent weeks, fell 2% in the premarket. Online trading platform Robinhood was down 1%, and crypto exchange Coinbase Global, Inc. dropped 2%.
Bitcoin has been rising ever since President-elect Donald Trump won the U.S. election, and topped six figures for the first time ever on Dec. 4 after he nominated the crypto advocate Paul Atkins to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Now that he’s made his pick to head up the U.S.’s top financial watchdog, digital-asset traders are waiting for other catalysts to emerge that could drive prices even higher.
Susan Joseph, the executive director of fintech at Cornell University, said last week that two factors could support a Bitcoin rally in 2025: exchange-traded funds luring in institutional investors, and the possibility that the U.S. might adopt the crypto as a reserve currency under Trump.
“I think there’s a lot of evidence to suggest the price will continue to go up. There are a lot of pressures driving the price right now from political to technical,” she added.
