Investing.com — Bitcoin fell slightly on Monday after a weekend rally as markets awaited further cues on crypto policy from US President-elect Donald Trump.
Fears of further distributions by the defunct exchange Mt.Gox also weighed on it after $2 billion worth of coins were moved from wallets associated with the exchange last week. Such movements are usually a precursor to a distribution event, and Mt.Gox still holds billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin, which it plans to return to creditors.
By 12:01 ET (5:01 p.m. Japan time), the stock was down 0.4% at $99,439.8.
President Trump's crypto rally pauses ahead of further policy and economic data
Optimism about crypto-friendly regulations under President-elect Donald Trump sent Bitcoin soaring last week, hitting a record high of $103,719.4.
Support for Trump's policy plans grew after he nominated a crypto-friendly Securities and Exchange Commission chairman last week. This comes after he nominated pro-crypto candidates for Treasury Secretary and Commerce Secretary.
President Trump has promised to introduce crypto-friendly regulations during his second term and make the United States the “crypto capital” of the world. He has also floated the idea of a Bitcoin strategic reserve, but analysts are skeptical about the prospects for the reserve.
Bitcoin remains on track for recent highs, but traders are now waiting for further cues on crypto policy ahead of President Trump's inauguration on January 20th.
Altcoins overtake Bitcoin with support from regulators
One trend that has emerged in recent weeks is that altcoins are becoming much more prominent than Bitcoin, in hopes that regulatory clarity will shift the market focus away from Bitcoin and toward more use cases. It was about making a profit.
was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the trade, surging to a six-year high as traders bet that the SEC would drop its long-running lawsuit against the issuer once President Trump took office.
The sharp decline in Bitcoin's dominance, which measures Bitcoin's share of crypto market capitalization, further strengthened the view that altcoins will outperform. Bitcoin’s dominance has fallen to about 55%, the lowest level in nearly a month, according to data from Coinmarketcap.
Bitcoin's rise this year has overshadowed most other cryptocurrencies. But this also meant it was trading at a potentially attractive discount.
Crypto prices today: Altcoins track Bitcoin and fall
Major altcoins have fared better than Bitcoin in recent weeks, but their gains were seen slowing in parallel with the crypto giant's rise on Monday.
The world's second-largest cryptocurrency fell 1% to $3,939.69, while the cryptocurrency that recently became the third-largest cryptocurrency fell 0.5% to $2.4821.
which fell between 1.6% and 2.5%, and meme tokens, which fell 4.6%.