Bitcoin fell 2% this week, retreating from over $82,000 to struggle near $77,000 ahead of a Federal Reserve leadership change from Jerome Powell to Kevin Warsh. The altcoin market was predominantly red, though meme coin HYPE surged 43% to a record above $62, while NEAR and VVV also posted double-digit weekly gains.
Bitcoin lost over $6,000 in several days, dropping to its lowest price since early May. The cryptocurrency rebounded slightly to $78,000 before struggling to hold above $77,000 as bearish sentiment persisted.
The market braces for a shift as the US Federal Reserve welcomes a new Chairman after more than eight years. Kevin Warsh begins his era today, though analysts from XWIN Research Japan noted other on-chain signals could impact BTC’s price more in the short term.
Most larger-cap altcoins mirrored Bitcoin’s weekly decline. However, HYPE stole the show with a 43% surge that pushed it to a new all-time high.
“Aside from HYPE, the other two big weekly gainers are NEAR and VVV.” They joined ZEC and ONDO in the club of double-digit price gainers for the week.
In other news, the market commemorated Bitcoin Pizza Day on May 22, marking 16 years since the first documented BTC transaction for two pizzas. Data also showed Bitcoin whales are accumulating, with wallets holding at least 100 BTC growing 11.2% in a year.
MicroStrategy announced its largest Bitcoin purchase in a long time, acquiring 24,869 BTC for over $2 billion. This increased its total stash to 843,738 BTC.
Reports emerged that Iran launched a Bitcoin-based shipping insurance for vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. This followed a separate initiative last month asking ships to pay up to $2 million in BTC for safe passage.
