The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price is having a week to forget.
The world's first and biggest crypto is currently trading for US$77,334 (AU$111,032). That's down 1.6% overnight and down 11.7% since this time last week, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
This marks the lowest levels for the token since 9 April, when all manner of risk assets came under pressure following United States President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' global tariff pronouncements.
The Bitcoin price hit an all-time high of US$126,198 on 7 October last year. The crypto is now down 38.4% from that high watermark.
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), the world's second biggest crypto, is having an even tougher run of it lately.
Ethereum is currently fetching US$2,275, down 7.1% over the past 24 hours. The Ethereum price is now down 20.5% since this time last week. Ethereum hit its own record high of US$4,954 on 22 August last year.
The world's number two crypto has since tumbled 53.9% from those highs.
Image source: Getty Images
What's pressuring the Bitcoin price?
The Bitcoin price looks to be catching headwinds on several fronts.
First, despite the recent pullback in gold and silver prices, investors have been showing greater interest in precious metals and cold hard cash than in cryptocurrencies as safe-haven assets amid rising geopolitical risks.
Indeed, spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) outflows have continued over the past weeks.
Then there's the diminishing outlook for ongoing interest rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve.
What are the experts saying?
"Suddenly, cryptocurrencies no longer appear to be an alternative to fiat money and a hedge against the not-so-responsible financial policies of major countries," Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, said (quoted by Bloomberg).
"Silver and gold have become the vehicle for investors concerned about fiat currencies," Louis Navellier at Navellier & Associates added.
Matt Howells-Barby, vice president at Kraken, noted that the big global cash splash on artificial intelligence also looks to be weighing on the Bitcoin price.
He said:
Concerns around heavy AI investment by big tech, without the corresponding earnings to justify the spend, appear to be unsettling broader risk assets. With credit spreads already extremely tight, markets were firmly risk-on going into this move, so it's not surprising to see investors pause and reassess their risk appetite.
Then there's the market's shifting expectations on the outlook for interest rates in the world's biggest economy after United States President Donald Trump last week appointed Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair.
While Warsh has recently amended his views to be more dovish and in line with Trump's own push for lower interest rates, he is known to be hawkish, with a sharp focus on combating inflation.
"While his nomination would support the case that rates will continue to decline in 2026 through to 2027, Warsh is a career economist who is all too aware of reducing too much, too quickly," Hayden Hughes, general partner at Tokenize Capital, said (quoted by Bloomberg).
The Bitcoin price has historically proven to be highly sensitive to interest rate moves.
