At 09:30 ET (13:30 GMT), Bitcoin rose 0.1% to $58,415.0, after having dropped over 7% last week and a steep decline in August as a whole.
Volumes have been light Monday with the U.S. on holiday, celebrating Labor Day.
The world’s biggest cryptocurrency was nursing a steep decline in August, as a broader risk-off move across financial markets hit crypto prices particularly hard.
Bitcoin spent most of August trending lower, as the world’s biggest cryptocurrency was dented by persistent concerns over token distributions and mass sale events, especially from defunct exchange Mt Gox.
Attention now turns to the key economic data this week, culminating with the widely-watched U.S. nonfarm payrolls release on Friday.
Concerns over a U.S. recession had sparked deep losses across global financial markets at the beginning of August, including the crypto markets.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to start cutting interest rates later this month, and the payrolls data could determine the size of the cut, likely impacting wider risk sentiment.
Traders are pricing in a virtual 100% chance of a 25 basis point cut in September, according to CME Fedwatch.
While Bitcoin has edged higher at the start of this week, it has shown a consistent pattern of underperformance in September.
Historical data reveals that Bitcoin has experienced negative returns in nine out of the last 13 Septembers, making it one of the worst months for the cryptocurrency with an average negative return of 5.36%.
Broader cryptocurrency prices drifted in lackluster trading, and were also nursing losses for August.
World no.2 crypto ETH/USD gained 1.7% to $2,514.20, having fallen over 20% in August – its worst month since January 2022.
Other altcoins XRP, SOL and ADA also traded in tight ranges.
Markets were largely on edge ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting later this month, with Friday’s payrolls result likely to factor into the central bank’s stance on interest rates.
Lower rates bode well for cryptocurrencies, given that they free up more liquidity for speculative trade.
Source: Cryptocurrency - investing.com
