Bitcoin fell slightly on Tuesday as the recent rally stalled amid growing caution over upcoming high-level talks between the United States and China and the Federal Reserve meeting later this week.
The world's largest cryptocurrency fell 1.6% to $113,760.2 by 9:47 a.m. Saudi time, with some profit-taking after a rebound to $116,000 on Monday.
Focus on Fed rate cut, Trump-Xi talks
Markets turned cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting on Tuesday, with the central bank widely expected to cut interest rates by at least 25 basis points on Wednesday.
Bets on interest rate cuts were bolstered by slightly weaker-than-expected consumer inflation data released last week, which showed that inflation remained mostly subdued. This, coupled with recent signs of a slowing labor market, has kept markets largely biased toward further Fed rate cuts in the coming months—a scenario that bodes well for cryptocurrency markets.
Focus was also on the upcoming talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, scheduled for this week. The two are expected to build on the framework of a trade agreement between Washington and Beijing, which aims to ease escalating trade tensions between the world's two largest economies.
The prospect of lower interest rates and a US-China trade deal were key drivers of the cryptocurrency rally, helping Bitcoin break out of the $100,000-$110,000 trading range seen throughout most of October.
Metaplanet buys back nearly $500 million of its shares
Japanese hotel company Metaplanet Inc. (TYO:3350) said Tuesday it will buy back up to 13.13% of its shares for about 75 billion yen ($500 million).
Metaplanet shares rose more than 6% in Tokyo trading after the announcement, further recovering from a recent six-month low.
The company said it will finance the buyback through a $500 million debt facility.
Metaplanet is the fourth largest Bitcoin holder, holding 30,823 coins in its wallet.
The company has ramped up its cryptocurrency purchases over the past year, with a series of capital offerings.
But growing doubts about the long-term viability of corporate Bitcoin vaults have weighed on its shares over the past two months, with Metaplanet's enterprise value also falling below the value of its Bitcoin reserves earlier in October.
Cryptocurrency Prices Today: Ether Falls Due to Corporate Selling, Altcoins Decline
Broader cryptocurrency prices fell in tandem with Bitcoin, although the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, Ether, led the losses.
Ether fell 3.9% to $4,072.0 after treasury firm ETHZilla said it sold approximately $40 million of ether from its treasury to fund a share buyback.
XRP fell 1.1%, while BNB fell 2.6%.
Cardano and Solana fell between 2.5% and 4%, while among meme coins, Dogecoin fell by 4.6% and $TRUMP rose by 8.5%.
