Bigger gains in Bitcoin were held back by a new blow to risk appetite on Monday
Bitcoin rose in Asian trade on Monday, remaining steady from last week as risk appetite remained on edge amid heightened tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and the central bank.
Continuing global geopolitical uncertainty, coupled with caution before key U.S. economic readings this week, also kept markets on edge.
Bitcoin largely lagged a rally in technology shares, as the latter benefited from improving sentiment towards artificial intelligence. While the world’s largest crypto does tend to trade in line with tech shares, it was seen tapering down this correlation over the past year.
But a lack of directly positive cues for crypto left Bitcoin trading largely lower through late-2025 and early-2026.
Bitcoin rose 1.5% to 92,094.4 by 05:51 GMT.
Bigger gains in Bitcoin were held back by a new blow to risk appetite on Monday.
U.S. central bank Chair Jerome Powell said the bank had been subpoenaed by the Department of Justice and was facing a potential criminal indictment, over an ongoing renovation of the bank’s headquarters.
But Powell alleged that the probe was politically motivated, referencing repeated calls from the Donald Trump administration to cut interest rates sharply.
Powell’s comments sparked losses in U.S. stock futures and sparked a rush into safe havens, specifically gold and other precious metals. Markets feared that greater friction between Trump and the central bank could undermine the bank’s independence, especially with Trump set to name Powell’s successor in the near-term.
Broader crypto prices also advanced in line with Bitcoin on Monday, but remained largely within recent trading ranges.
Focus this week is squarely on U.S. consumer price index inflation data for December. The print is due on Tuesday and is likely to factor into interest rate expectations.
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