Most cryptocurrencies fell during Friday’s trading, led by Bitcoin, which has officially entered bear-market territory following heavy selling and uncertainty over U.S. monetary policy.

Bitcoin reached 94,491.22 dollars earlier today, leaving the digital asset down more than 23% from its last record high in early October at 126,000 dollars, thereby entering a bear market.

According to data compiled by Bloomberg, U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds investing in Bitcoin saw net outflows of about 870 million dollars on Thursday, signaling waning institutional confidence.

Speculation and uncertainty surrounding Federal Reserve policy returned to the forefront as concerns grew over the expected size of the rate cut at the upcoming December meeting.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, the probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut in December declined to 53.6% from 94.4% a month ago, while the probability of no change rose to 46.4% from 5.5%.

In the same context, Jeffrey Schmid, president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, said Friday that his concerns about inflation—describing it as “far too hot”—far outweigh the narrower effects of tariffs, in new remarks suggesting he may oppose cuts again at the December meeting if policymakers decide to lower short-term borrowing costs.

Early Thursday morning, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of the temporary funding bill, which was then signed by President Donald Trump, immediately ending the government shutdown that had lasted from early October until Wednesday.

Ethereum

In market trading, Ethereum rose 0.2% to 3,205.8 dollars on CoinMarketCap as of 20:00 GMT.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin fell by nearly 3% to 95,700 dollars.

The United Nations’ annual climate conference, COP30, began on Monday in Brazil, marked by the notable absence of the United States. In an unprecedented political move, Washington sent no high-level representation to the conference, which is considered the largest and most important international event of its kind. The absence comes after the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. And as the world’s largest economy pulls back from decarbonization and clean-energy initiatives, the rest of the world continues advancing at a rapid pace.

Many experts believe that the U.S. shift away from expanding clean-energy projects opens the door for competitors—chief among them China.

Although Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend COP30, China’s presence and influence will be strong. A report by Semafor stated that “the summit will highlight the scale of progress China’s clean-tech industry has made in Latin America,” adding that “Brazil has chosen Chinese electric vehicles to transport participants, signaling that the world is moving forward even without American political and technological leadership.”

This assessment appears accurate. Globally, the world continues to achieve historic gains in deploying renewable energy and expanding electrification efforts, as renewables this year surpassed coal as the largest source of electricity generation worldwide in a historic milestone. China alone has added 300 gigawatts of solar and wind capacity since the start of the year—nearly five times the United Kingdom’s entire renewable capacity.

And it is not limited to China, Europe, and wealthy nations. A growing number of developing countries—across South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East—are now among the fastest-growing adopters of clean energy.

This is driven by the changing economics of renewables, especially the falling cost and large-scale availability of solar technologies. Thanks to a flood of cheap Chinese-made solar panels and wind-turbine components, countries like Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Morocco, Kenya, and Namibia have surpassed the United States in their clean-energy trajectories. According to Yale Environment 360 estimates, about 63% of emerging-market energy systems in Africa, Asia, and Latin America rely on solar power for electricity generation to a greater extent than the United States.

CNN notes that “some countries are undergoing rapid and striking energy transitions, adding solar power at a pace that has made it a major source of electricity within just a few years—not decades.” A standout example is Pakistan, which has become “one of the largest new adopters of solar energy” in an exceptionally short period.

Jan Rosenow, head of the energy program at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute, told NPR this year: “We have never seen solar deployed at this scale and within such a short timeframe anywhere in the world.”

This massive shift would not have been possible without the steep decline in wind and solar technology costs—and that decline would not have occurred without China’s large-scale manufacturing. Lars Nitter Havro, head of macro energy research at Rystad Energy, told CNN: “The world is now reaping the benefits of this expansion, enabling emerging economies to seize the opportunity and leap into the new energy era.”

China’s large-scale and cost-effective clean-energy manufacturing has strengthened its near-total dominance over global clean-energy supply chains and expanded its influence in emerging economies worldwide. It also remains the single factor keeping decarbonization achievable for many countries after other transition-finance plans—including unfulfilled climate-finance pledges—failed to deliver.

U.S. stock indexes fell during Friday’s trading amid heavy pressure and broad selling on Wall Street, particularly in the technology sector.

Speculation and uncertainty surrounding Federal Reserve policy returned to the forefront as concerns grew over the expected size of the rate cut at the upcoming December meeting.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, the probability of a 25-basis-point Fed rate cut in December shrank to 53.6% from 94.4% a month ago, while the probability of no change rose to 46.4% from 5.5%.

Early on Thursday morning, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of the temporary funding bill, which was then signed by President Donald Trump, immediately ending the government shutdown that had lasted from early October until Wednesday.

In market trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7% (360 points) to 47,094 points by 15:43 GMT, the broader S&P 500 slipped 0.2% (10 points) to 6,727 points, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1% (13 points) to 22,884 points.

Copper and aluminum retreated from their weekly gains after China’s economic activity slowed more than expected in October, weighing on demand expectations in the world’s largest metals consumer.

Government data released on Friday showed that slower growth in China’s industrial production last month, combined with an unprecedented drop in investment, added to pressures stemming from weak consumption. The disappointing figures pushed both metals toward their first daily decline of the week.

Even so, copper remains on track for weekly gains of about 1% in London. Prices of the industrial metal have risen more than 20% this year, supported by a series of production disruptions and trade-related obstacles linked to potential U.S. tariffs on refined copper. On the supply side, there was some relief on Friday as Freeport-McMoRan resumed part of its operations at the Grasberg copper mine in Indonesia, after large-scale activities there were halted in September following a fatal accident.

As for aluminum, it stayed slightly higher on the week, supported by concerns that Chinese smelters are approaching the government-imposed capacity ceiling, which could limit supply growth. China’s aluminum output reached 3.8 million tons in October, down 9% from September, according to Friday’s data.

Copper fell 0.8% to 10,865 dollars per ton on the London Metal Exchange as of 9:20 a.m. local time, while aluminum dropped 1.5% to 2,854.50 dollars per ton.