Bitcoin and Ether Retreat as Markets Await July CPI
Macro & Markets ·
BTC slipped to about $63,700 and ETH to roughly $1,858 on Monday as traders digested a weak jobs report and a Fed rate hold ahead of Wednesday's inflation data.
Bitcoin fell roughly 1.4% to near $63,700, while Ether dropped about 3.4% to approximately $1,858, according to CEX data cited in market coverage. The pullback followed Friday's nonfarm payrolls report, which showed a decline of 23K jobs against expectations for growth, and a Federal Reserve decision to hold its benchmark rate at 3.75%. Those releases had initially lifted crypto prices before the gains eroded into Monday's session, with Bitcoin having topped $65,000 on the strength of the weak jobs data before slipping back.
The move reflects how sensitive crypto markets remain to shifting expectations for Fed policy. A soft labor report initially eased fears of further rate hikes, but as the week progressed traders repositioned ahead of the July consumer price index print, due Wednesday, which is seen as the next major test for whether the Fed maintains a patient stance or faces renewed pressure to act on inflation.
That test arrived with the CPI reading, which came in at 3.4%, in line with expectations. Bitcoin held relatively steady on the release, a reaction that prompted analysts to examine how macro data is transmitting into crypto price action, as covered by Decrypt. Separately, CryptoPotato reported that Bitcoin held steady immediately after the in-line print, before later dipping below $64,000, a move The Block attributed to the data buying the Fed time rather than signaling conviction toward rate cuts.
Other accounts of the CPI reaction described Bitcoin dipping only slightly, from about $64,400, as the in-line 3.3–3.4% reading lowered the perceived odds of a Fed hike in September. Coverage in the days before the print had also flagged volatility risk around the release, with analysts split on whether Bitcoin was more likely to fall below $57,500 or recover toward higher levels, underscoring the wide range of outcomes traders were pricing in.
What remains unresolved is whether the muted CPI reaction signals durable calm or simply a pause before the next catalyst. Analysts cited by The Block cautioned that an in-line print keeps the Fed patient without offering conviction on the timing or scale of future rate cuts, leaving the path for Bitcoin and Ether contingent on subsequent data and policy signals rather than settled by this week's release alone.