Bitcoin’s price fell on Tuesday, pulling back from recent three-month highs as broader risk aversion- in anticipation of a tight U.S. presidential election- spilled over into cryptocurrency markets.

While speculation over a Donald Trump victory had initially boosted crypto prices, recent polls pointed to a tight race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, denting risk appetite. Broader risk-driven assets retreated, which in turn weighed on sentiment towards crypto.

Strength in the dollar also pressured crypto prices, while safe haven demand saw gold hit record highs.

Bitcoin fell 2.4% to $67,412.5 by 00:49 ET (04:49 GMT). The token had risen as far as $69,000, but failed to break above $70,000, which was expected to mark a bullish turn for the token.

Election uncertainty weighs on Bitcoin
The world’s largest cryptocurrency was pulled off recent highs by increasing uncertainty over the U.S. elections, with just about two weeks left to the ballot.

Improving odds for Trump had been a key driver of crypto’s price gains in the past week, especially given that the Republican candidate has maintained a largely pro-crypto stance.

Encouraging comments from Harris- on potential crypto regulation- also buoyed sentiment.

But analysts now saw the 2024 race as too close to call, sparking broader uncertainty in risk-driven markets and pushing traders more towards safe havens such as gold and the dollar.

Prediction markets still leaned largely towards a Trump victory, with Polymarket showing Trump at a 63.7% chance over Harris’ 36.4% chance.

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There are only 16 days left until the US elections, and Bitcoin is already at the high of late July. Many analysts are confident that a Trump victory will take Bitcoin to new heights, and this theory is gaining popularity among major financial institutions. Others believe that the election results will not have a significant impact on the value of Bitcoin , but a Trump victory could create a so-called "Divine Candle".

This belief is based on Trump’s shifting stance on cryptocurrency, as well as his promises to make cryptocurrency thrive in America. Harris, on the other hand, is surrounded by skepticism due to her role as Biden’s vice president. The Biden administration has made life difficult for the industry over the past few years, and Harris would likely continue that policy if elected.

Last month, analysts at Standard and Chartered predicted that a Trump victory could push BTC to $125,000, while a Harris victory could push it closer to $75,000. The well-known brokerage and research firm Bernstein came to a similar conclusion.

If Trump wins, a huge green “Divine Candle” could emerge simply due to the strength of market sentiment. Bitcoin has formed several such epic daily candles over the years, and crypto publication Protos has charted them in a separate chart.

Daily candlestick from February 8, 2021 captured by r/cryptocurrency members.

The largest Divine Candle to date occurred on April 10, 2013, when Bitcoin’s price soared from just under $20 to $290 (a 115% increase in one day). Another notable spike occurred when Elon Musk’s Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA ) invested in BTC, sending its price up 22.4% on February 8, 2021. A Trump victory could create a candle that falls somewhere between the above.

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Tether has announced that its stablecoin has significantly increased its user base. By the end of Q3 2024, there were 330 million wallets registered on the network containing USDT.

The number of users of the asset is already comparable to the population of the United States, but the popularity of the stablecoin continues to grow. The average quarterly growth is 9%. In the third quarter of this year, USDT attracted more than 36 million new users. And this was the best indicator for the stablecoin in its entire history.

Tether Stablecoin User Base

According to Tether representatives, the growth of the USDT user base is due to the fact that the asset is available in several blockchains at once. The leaders in the distribution of the stablecoin were the Tron , Binance Smart Chain and Ethereum networks .

Second-layer solutions such as Optimism, Arbitrum, and Polygon are also making a significant contribution to the asset’s scaling. Newer blockchains are not far behind. For example, over the past six months, TON has increased its USDT user base by 3.3 million.

Tether's head of economics, Philip Gradwell, explains USDT's popularity by saying that the asset meets the everyday financial needs of people around the world, especially in regions without access to traditional banking.

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