Altcoins drifting lower on Friday
Bitcoin prices were trading marginally lower Friday, continuing what’s been a quiet week for the best-known cryptocurrency.
On Friday, one bitcoin BTCUSD, +0.60% was fetching $3,618.91, down 0.8% since Thursday at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the Kraken crypto exchange. For the week, the cryptocurrency is higher by 1.6%.
While bitcoin has spent much of the week treading water either side of $3,500, the overarching trend is a pickup in volatility, according to Kevin Davitt, senior instructor at the Cboe. “So, the New Year is underway and volatility appears to be percolating, which is off-putting to most passive investors,” he wrote.
“However, there are many market participants that understand volatility is a constant, and if volume numbers at Cboe are any indication, they are actively embracing the tools available to trade volatility and/or manage risk.”
Altcoins and futures moving lower on Friday
Altcoins — the collective group of more than 2,000 cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin — were drifting lower on Friday. Ether ETHUSD, +1.55% was off 2% at $119.15, Litecoin LTCUSD, +0.84% was down 1.9% to $30.73, Bitcoin CashBCHUSD, +0.87% lost 2.4% to $125.60, and XRP, XRPUSD, +1.56% was off 2.2% at 32 cents.
Bitcoin futures have ticked lower on Friday. The Cboe Global Markets February contract XBTG9, -0.35% finished down 1.5% at $3,550, while the CME Group February contract BTCG9, -0.70% ended the day 0.8% lower at $3,560.