Bitcoin Gives Up Gains as U.S. Election Anxiety Unleashes Crypto Volatility

A
cryptocurrency
rally
saw
a
rapid
reversal
during
the
U.S.
afternoon
hours
as
the
final
stretch
of
the
U.S.
election
left
traders
jittery.

Bitcoin

(BTC)
surged
to
$70,500
earlier
during
the
day
from
around
$67,000,
then
shed
2%
in
an
hour
to
briefly
drop
below
$69,000.
It
was
trading
at
$69,000
at
press
time,
still
up
more
than
2%
over
the
past
24
hours..
The
broad-market

CoinDesk
20
Index
booked
3%
gain
during
the
same
period,
led
by
native
tokens
of
Near

(NEAR),
Aptos

(APT)
and
Hedera

(HBAR)
advancing
6%-7%.

Ether

(ETH)
continued
its
streak
of
dismal
performance
relative
to
bitcoin,
with
the
ETH/BTC
ratio
dropping
below
0.035
for
the
first
time
since
April
2021.
ETH
lagged
with
its
0.4%
daily
gain,
while
litecoin

(LTC)
was
also
flat.

Zooming
out,
bitcoin
is
still
trading
within
a
narrow
range
below
its
all-time
record
heading
into
the
U.S.
election
night,
which
is
viewed
as
a
key
source
of
uncertainty
for
crypto
prices.

“We
expect
spot
[prices]
to
chop
around
this
range
until
we
get
more
clarity
on
the
election
results
this
week,
where
a
Trump
win
is
likely
to
cause
a
knee-jerk
reaction
higher,
and
vice
versa
if
Kamala
wins,”
digital
asset
hedge
fund
QCP
forecasted
in
a
Monday
market
update.

The
worst
case
scenario
for
risk
assets
including
cryptocurrencies
would
be
“a
delayed
or
contested
election
–
much
like
in
the
2000
election
–
where
the
result
is
unknown
for
weeks,”
said
Bohan
Jiang,
head
of
OTC
options
trading
at
Abra.
“This
would
lead
to
a
sell-off
in
risk
assets
in
the
meantime,
wherein
the
event
volatility
would
roll
to
subsequent
weeks
until
we
get
a
resolution.”