Bitcoin saw choppy movement over the past hours after retesting its lowest levels in more than six months. While it managed to recover a portion of its losses, the cryptocurrency remains under clear pressure amid the absence of fresh catalysts and as expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut continue to fade ahead of the upcoming meeting. The price briefly dipped into the $93,000 zone before stabilizing near $95,000, ending last week with losses of around 7%, marking its third consecutive weekly decline.
The main driver weighing on Bitcoin now is the market’s reassessment of the rate cut outlook. Expectations for easing at the December 10-11 meeting have fallen sharply from nearly 90% at the start of the month to roughly 40% following a series of cautious remarks from Fed officials who stressed that inflation remains uneven and the labor market is still strong. This shift has directly affected risk appetite, especially in the crypto market, which had previously benefited from aggressive easing bets.
Amid these developments, outflows from Bitcoin Spot ETFs have accelerated, reflecting a repositioning among investors who were previously building positions on expectations of monetary easing. This wave of outflows has further weakened the bullish momentum that supported Bitcoin earlier in the year.
Uncertainty has also been amplified by delays in key economic data releases caused by the recent U.S. government shutdown. One of the most important missing indicators is the September non-farm payrolls report, now scheduled for release on Thursday. The absence of data has left markets without a clear macro picture for weeks, increasing caution across the crypto space.
In a notable regulatory move, Japan’s Asahi newspaper reported that the Financial Services Agency (FSA) is considering reclassifying cryptocurrencies as financial products under national law. This would subject around 105 digital assets, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, to insider-trading regulations. The agency is also studying a proposal to reduce the tax rate on crypto gains to 20%, aligning it with equities and replacing the current rate that can exceed 55%.
Such changes could have a significant impact on the structure of the Asian crypto market in the coming period.
On the altcoin front, movements were relatively muted:
- Ethereum edged lower near $3,188
- XRP held steady around $2.226
- Solana slipped 0.5%
- Cardano and Polygon each fell 1.8%
Among meme tokens, Dogecoin dropped 0.8%, while $TRUMP decreased by 0.7%.
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