Investing.com– Bitcoin price fell on Wednesday, extending losses seen this week as weak risk appetite- amid uncertainty over the U.S. political outlook- kept traders averse towards crypto.
The launch of spot exchange-traded funds tracking Ether also did little to improve sentiment towards the sector, with prices dropping on Tuesday and trading sideways on Wednesday.
fell 1.7% in the past 24 hours to $65,793.5 by 01:56 ET (05:56 GMT). The token had rebounded as far as $69,000 over the weekend, but was now steadily reversing course.
Bitcoin struggles amid political uncertainty, weak risk appetite
Bitcoin came under pressure from increased uncertainty over the U.S. presidential race, especially after President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris was seen swiftly gaining support in the Democratic party, and is now widely expected to be nominated as the party’s presidential candidate.
This sets her up for a showdown with Republican candidate Donald Trump, who, before Harris’ endorsement, was seen polling ahead of both Biden and Harris.
Expectations of a Trump presidency had fueled some gains in crypto, especially given that he has maintained a positive stance towards crypto in recent campaigning efforts. Trump is also set to speak at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville this Saturday.
Still, Harris was seen polling ahead of Trump in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted just after her endorsement by Biden.
Spot Ether ETFs see strong volumes, but spark little price action
Six ETFs tied directly to the price of Ether began trading in U.S. markets on Tuesday, attracting trading volumes of over $1 billion in their first day of trade.
But they were at a fraction of the $4.6 billion traded during the debut of spot Bitcoin ETFs earlier this year.
Ether’s price also declined on Tuesday, and traded flat at around $3,440.97 on Wednesday.
While the launch of the spot Ether ETFs is expected to attract more institutional investors into crypto, it remains unclear just how much demand there actually is for the product.
Trading volumes in spot Bitcoin ETFs have also largely dwindled since their debut earlier this year.
Crypto price today: Altcoins tread water
Among broader crypto markets, major altcoins saw limited moves on Wednesday, as sentiment for risk-driven assets remained largely weak.
and moved in a tight range, while lost 2.6%.
Among meme tokens shed 1.9%, while fell 0.7%.