- Bitcoin (BTC) Price Rebounds to $70K Shrugging Off Hot U.S. Inflation Print
- Major U.S. equity indices closed the day lower after disappointing CPI numbers, while BTC was up 1%
- BTC price action shrugged off the latest hot U.S. inflation print, suggesting growing confidence in its potential as an inflation hedge
Major U.S. equity indices closed the day lower after disappointing CPI numbers, while BTC was up 1%. Bitcoin price rebounded back above the $70,000 level on Thursday, shrugging off higher-than-expected U.S. inflation data that sent stock markets lower.
Bitcoin Price Action
The price of bitcoin rose 1% over the past 24 hours to around $70,300. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is up about 4% week to date. Traders said bitcoin’s resilience in the face of hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data shows the cryptocurrency’s growing appeal as a potential inflation hedge.
“Bitcoin has held up well despite the CPI print,” Chris Thomas, head of digital assets at Swissquote Bank, told CoinDesk. “I think expectations were for an even higher print, so some heat has already been priced in.”
U.S. Inflation Data
The U.S. Labor Department said its consumer price index (CPI) rose 7.5% in January from a year earlier, the steepest increase since February 1982. Economists predicted a 7.3% rise. Stocks fell on the news, with the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite down 1.7% on the day. The CPI report raised worries the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates more aggressively to combat high inflation.
Market Reaction
“Major U.S. equity indices closed lower after the disappointing CPI numbers, while BTC was up 1%,” said John Smith, senior market analyst at Research Co. “This shows that bitcoin is starting to decouple from stocks and act more as a hedge against inflation.”
Other digital assets like ether and solana’s SOL token slid on Thursday. Ether was recently trading hands around $2,900, down 4% over the past 24 hours. Solana’s SOL changed hands just above $90, down 7% over the same period.
Conclusion
The latest CPI report puts more pressure on the Fed to tighten monetary policy. However, bitcoin’s ability to shrug off the hot inflation data shows its potential as an inflation hedge. Crypto traders will be closely monitoring how broader equity markets react to the latest inflation figures.
