Bitcoin rose in Asian trade on Monday, remaining steady from last week as risk appetite remained on edge amid heightened tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and the Federal Reserve.
Continuing global geopolitical uncertainty, coupled with caution before key U.S. economic readings this week, also kept markets on edge.
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Bitcoin largely lagged a rally in technology shares, as the latter benefited from improving sentiment towards artificial intelligence. While the world’s largest crypto does tend to trade in line with tech shares, it was seen tapering down this correlation over the past year.
But a lack of directly positive cues for crypto left Bitcoin trading largely lower through late-2025 and early-2026.
Bitcoin rose 1.5% to 92,094.4 by 00:51 ET (05:51 GMT).
Fed indictment risk, geopolitics dent crypto appetite Bigger gains in Bitcoin were held back by a fresh blow to risk appetite on Monday.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the bank had been subpoenaed by the Department of Justice and was facing a potential criminal indictment, over an ongoing renovation of the Fed’s headquarters.
But Powell alleged that the probe was politically motivated, referencing repeated calls from the Donald Trump administration to cut interest rates sharply.
Powell’s comments sparked losses in U.S. stock futures and sparked a rush into safe havens, specifically gold and other precious metals. Markets feared that greater friction between Trump and the Fed could undermine the central bank’s independence, especially with Trump set to name Powell’s successor in the near-term.
Adding to the risk aversion, global geopolitical uncertainty remained in play. Trump doubled down on his demands that the U.S. take control of Greenland– a scenario that markets grew more fearful of after Washington’s incursion in Venezuela last week.
A diplomatic spat between China and Japan showed few signs of easing, while focus was also on nationwide protests in Iran and continued hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.
Crypto price today: altcoins edge higher with US CPI on tap Broader crypto prices also advanced in line with Bitcoin on Monday, but remained largely within recent trading ranges.
Focus this week is squarely on U.S. consumer price index inflation data for December. The print is due on Tuesday and is likely to factor into interest rate expectations.
World no.2 crypto Ether rose 2% to $3,160.47, while XRP fell 0.6%.
Solana added 5%, while Cardano rose 2%. BNB lagged with a 0.6% drop.
Among meme tokens, Dogecoin rose 0.5%, while $TRUMP added 0.7%.
