The Bitcoin price rose just barely this Monday, though it remained range-bound despite optimism about possible interest rate cuts by major central banks this week along with weakness in the U.S. dollar.
Bukele’s re-election draws little price attention amid little reference for Bitcoin.
Bitcoin showed little price action even as El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, who had adopted the major cryptocurrency as legal tender since 2021, was re-elected to a second consecutive term over the weekend.
Bukele was seen as a key figure in the cryptocurrency sector for his legalization of the currency and had regularly used the country’s treasury to purchase the token on the open market.
However, Bukele barely mentioned Bitcoin during his inauguration. El Salvador’s president also seems to have gotten rid of all mentions of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies from his account on the social network X. X was formerly known as Twitter.
Bukele had promised medicine to fix the ailing Salvadoran economy at his inauguration, while public debt levels skyrocketed during his first term. Bitcoin adoption in the country had done little to boost the economy.
Bukele’s much-publicized plans to create a “Bitcoin City” have also largely failed, as they have attracted little interest from private sector investors. Earlier this year, El Salvador had returned to conventional debt markets by selling $1 billion worth of bonds.
All in all, the value of El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings saw a sharp rise after the token had a stellar run-up to 2023 and early 2024.
Cryptocurrency prices today: shy despite hopes of a rate cut
Cryptocurrency prices were flat on Monday, with little support from a broad-based rally in risk markets amid growing attention to interest rate cuts.
The world’s No. 2 token, Ether, rose 0.3% to $3,817.63, while SOL and XRP fell 0.8% and 0.1%, respectively.
Among the meme currencies, SHIB lost 1.6%, while DOGE rose 0.5%.
Stocks rose on Monday on expectations of interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank and the Bank of Canada later in the week.
Also, expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut in September grew after data released on Friday showed a slight cooling in inflation. The Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates at its meeting next week.
