Bitcoin traded near $73,500 on Tuesday morning, down about 1% over the past day and roughly $32,000 below its price one year ago, according to Bitcoin Magazine Pro data. The move followed a hotter-than-expected inflation report that revived fears of a larger Federal Reserve rate hike.
CPI Comes in Hot
The U.S. consumer price index rose 0.4% in October, above the 0.3% economists expected. Core CPI, which strips out food and energy, climbed 0.3% against forecasts for 0.2%.
Food prices jumped 0.5% on the month, energy rose 0.7% and gasoline gained 1.0%. Housing costs increased 0.3%.
The report did not include an annual inflation rate. The government shutdown in October 2025 kept the Bureau of Labor Statistics from collecting a full set of prices, so there is no comparable figure. Bank of America estimated before the release that annual rates were running near 3.8% for headline and 2.7% for core.
Bitcoin Price Reaction
Bitcoin had been holding near $74,300 in the minutes before the 8:30 a.m. ET release. It dropped to about $73,400 right after the print, briefly undercutting Monday’s overnight low of $73,477, before steadying in the high-$73,000s.
The cryptocurrency had already been soft overnight. It lost about 1.4% from midnight UTC before the data, even as Asian markets rallied. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 4.39% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.87%, while oil kept falling after President Donald Trump called fresh strikes on Iran “highly unlikely.”
Fed Hike Bets Build
Bond traders moved first. Two- to five-year Treasury yields rose at least 10 basis points on the day after the print, and traders boosted bets on a half-point hike when the Fed meets on Dec. 9.
That was the scenario Fed Governor Christopher Waller laid out hours earlier. He said he is “leaning toward” a December increase and would back “more robust action” if inflation ran hotter than expected.
“In that case, I believe a 50 basis point hike in the policy rate should be considered at the December meeting,” Waller said. “Hiking only 25 basis points would put our credibility at risk, a risk I am not eager to take.”
Before the data, markets had already largely priced in a quarter-point move. Higher rates raise the cost of holding an asset that pays no yield, and that math has capped the bitcoin price since Friday’s strong jobs report.
ETF Outflows Add Pressure
Fund demand has not cushioned the drop. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs shed $201 million on Monday, led by $213.2 million leaving BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), its seventh straight session of redemptions. The streak comes even as BlackRock says demand to swap coins into IBIT in kind is at a record.
The bitcoin price has drifted lower since peaking above $87,000 in early October, as AI-related jitters weighed on Wall Street and ETF buyers stepped back.
Ether fell about 1.4% to near $2,100 overnight, as U.S. spot ether ETFs lost $184.6 million on Monday.
What to Watch
Analysts flagged $73,000 as the line to watch. A daily close below it could open the way to $70,000, while reclaiming $80,000 would point to stronger demand.
Producer price data lands Friday, followed by minutes from the Fed’s October meeting on Nov. 18. Both will help decide whether traders hold onto bets on a half-point hike or pare them back.
At the time of writing, the bitcoin price is near $73,500.
