XRP, Bitcoin Fall. Why the Crypto Rally Is Losing Steam. — Barrons.com

By Elsa OhlenBitcoin, XRP and most cryptocurrencies fell early Friday, ending a volatile week as traders have grappled with uncertainty over President Donald Trump's tariffs plan.The world's largest digital coin, Bitcoin, is down 1.1% to $97,068 over the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinDesk. It has largely recovered from Monday's selloff prompted by Trump's tariff threats which had investors scale back exposure to riskier assets. But it has struggled to stabilize at a level above $100,000.XRP, the popular altcoin used to facilitate transactions on Ripple's payment platform, fell 4.9% to $2.31 — far off a high of $3.4 in mid-January.There are several reasons why crypto is losing steam. Volumes are low and market sentiment is taking a hit as Trump's hasn't yet lived up to promise to create a strategic reserve of Bitcoin."Growth stopped after Trump's inauguration, which crypto enthusiasts were optimistic about," says FxPro analyst Alex Kuptsikevich. "Crypto investors are frustrated by the lack of progress on creating a US Bitcoin reserve."As the sector is waiting to hear about any new regulatory support, cryptos are also sensitive to macroeconomic factors that could lead to the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates higher for longer. High interest rates typically lead to lower crypto prices and vice versa.Crypto investors will be watching the U.S. jobs data set to be released at 8.30 Eastern time Friday. If data comes in stronger than expected, it could influence the central bank's plans to cut rates and in turn lead to falling crypto prices.Write to Elsa Ohlen at [email protected] content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.