Bitcoin holds around $90,000 amid market anticipation of Fed guidance and tariff-related updates
Bitcoin closed its first complete trading week of 2026 with minimal movement, staying near $90,000 and roughly 2% lower than a year ago.
Bitcoin is ending its first full trading week of 2026 with little change—hovering around the $90,000 level and down about 2% from a year ago.
The native cryptocurrency failed to break above $95,000, keeping it below the price ceiling it has faced since losing roughly a third of its value following the sell-off in October.
Bitcoin began to recover earlier this week during the New Year’s market rally, but it fell back below $94,800 on Monday. It was trading around $90,200 at 4 p.m. in New York on Friday.
Investors are awaiting policy decisions in Washington related to tariffs, Federal Reserve leadership, and cryptocurrency regulation, which is keeping Bitcoin in a holding pattern.
According to Jack Ostrowski, head of over-the-counter trading at Wintermute, the Supreme Court’s expected ruling on the legality of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Friday contributed to Bitcoin’s stability, along with exchange-traded fund inflows and geopolitical uncertainty.
“We’re seeing classic post-rally consolidation after Bitcoin’s strong start to 2026,” Ostrovsky said.
Stronger-than-expected economic data also dampened expectations for further interest rate cuts, slowing Bitcoin’s momentum toward its all-time high above $126,000 in October.
“Macroeconomic data has generally come in stronger than expected, which has slightly reduced the probability of a rate cut in March and is likely to put further pressure on prices in the near term,” said James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares.
Some market participants view the price stagnation as constructive.
“Bitcoin is consolidating around $90,000 after a prolonged period of selling driven by tax-loss harvesting and fears that MSCI would remove digital-asset treasury companies from its major indexes,” said Brian Vieten, a senior research analyst covering digital assets and blockchain at Seibert Financial. “Now that that risk has passed, the selling pressure has largely subsided.”
Index provider MSCI this week postponed its plan to remove digital-asset treasuries on the grounds that they function like investment funds.
Some traders remain bullish on Bitcoin’s long-term prospects. Butterfill said a price of around $200,000 by the end of the year is possible.
Ostrovsky said that once Bitcoin breaks through the psychological barrier of $95,000, systemic buying will be unlocked again, paving the way for six-figure prices.
“A sustained move above $95,000 could be reflexive,” Ostrovsky said.
