Bitcoin traded below $70,000 during Tuesday's Asian trading hours, once again failing to hold onto recent gains after recovering from recent lows near $60,000, as investors turned cautious ahead of key US jobs and inflation data.
The world's largest cryptocurrency fell 2.2% to $69,392.7 by 8:58 AM Saudi time.
Bitcoin stuck between $68,000 and $72,000 ahead of US data release
The market saw prices trade in a range between $68,000 and $72,000 during recent sessions, following a turbulent week in which Bitcoin fell to nearly $60,000 - levels not seen since October 2024 - before a larger cryptocurrency rally pushed it back above $70,000.
This decline came amid liquidation-driven selling as leveraged positions fell sharply.
Investors' attention is now focused on US economic data that could shape expectations for Federal Reserve policy.
The monthly US jobs figures, which were delayed by a brief government shutdown, are due to be released on Wednesday.
Later in the week, the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data is due on Friday, a key measure of inflation that could influence bets on interest rate cuts.
Markets also remain cautious about the impending change in Federal Reserve leadership following President Donald Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chairman.
Traders are weighing how a potentially more hawkish stance under Warsh's leadership could affect liquidity and speculative assets such as Bitcoin.
A South Korean cryptocurrency trading platform accidentally sent $44 billion worth of Bitcoin to users.
South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb accidentally sent nearly $44 billion in Bitcoin to users during a rewards promotion event, prompting calls for stricter regulation by the country's financial watchdog.
The error occurred on Friday when the platform mistakenly deposited 620,000 bitcoins into accounts instead of small cash prizes, triggering a sharp sell-off before the glitch was discovered and 99.7% of the coins were recovered.
Lee Chan-jin, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, said the incident revealed structural problems in the electronic systems of virtual assets and underscored the need to improve oversight mechanisms and legislation to place digital assets under stricter regulatory control.
Cryptocurrency prices today: Altcoins remain low
Most alternative currencies also declined on Tuesday.
Ethereum, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, lost 2% to reach $2,052.92.
XRP, the world's third-largest cryptocurrency, fell 1% to $1.43.
Solana fell by 1.6%, while Cardano and Polygon each declined by 2.5%.
Among the meme currencies, Dogecoin fell by 1.8%.
