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Investing.com-- Bitcoin was little changed on Thursday after rebounding to the $93,000 mark in the previous session, underpinned by positive regulatory developments and expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut next week.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency last traded 0.1% higher at $92,672.0 by 09:44 ET (14:44 GMT).
The stability comes after a bruising sell-off earlier in the week that dragged the world’s largest cryptocurrency close to the $84,000 level.
The rebound was underpinned by positive regulatory developments in the U.S. Comments from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins -- signaling that the agency plans to introduce an “innovation exemption” tailored to digital-asset firms -- helped restore investor confidence in the broader crypto regulatory framework.
At the same time, asset manager Vanguard has reversed its previous ban on crypto-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs), now allowing its clients to trade third-party crypto ETFs and mutual funds on its brokerage platform.
That move has drawn new institutional interest and reinforced expectations of renewed capital inflows into Bitcoin.
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Macroeconomic backdrop lends support
Growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its upcoming meeting next week gave a further boost to risk assets, including Bitcoin.
Additionally, liquidity conditions have improved after the Fed ended its quantitative tightening program on Dec. 1 and resumed large-scale repurchase operations, injecting fresh cash into the financial system.
The violent swing from sub-$84,000 to above $93,000 reflects a fragile market structure, with forced short liquidations exacerbating volatility.
“Positioning remains light after November’s flush, leaving room for incremental inflows to exert outsized impact. The market increasingly treats November as a structural reset that gives BTC more freedom to respond to macro shifts,” Iliya Kalchev, Nexo Dispatch analyst, told Investing.com.
Bitcoin could top $180,000 by 2026, Ripple CEO says
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse offered a bullish outlook for Bitcoin at Binance Blockchain Week, telling attendees he sees the cryptocurrency climbing to $180,000 by the end of 2026.
His comments came during a panel discussion with Solana Foundation President Lily Liu and Binance CEO Richard Teng.
Teng did not give a specific price forecast but said he expects Bitcoin to trade higher in the years ahead, emphasizing that his focus remains on longer-term adoption rather than short-term swings. Liu also struck an upbeat tone, saying she views levels above $100,000 as plausible.
Crypto price today: altcoins mixed, Ether climbs 3%
Most altcoins traded in tight ranges on Thursday amid a broader cautious mood.
World no.2 crypto Ethereum rose 3% to $3,179.84.
World no. 3 crypto XRP fell 2.1% to $2.13.
Solana was flat and Cardano added 1.4%, while Polygon dipped 1.6%.
Among meme tokens, both Dogecoin and $TRUMP were largely unchanged.
(Ayushman Ojha contributed to this report.)