Cryptocurrencies received a modest bid on Thursday after Wednesday’s inflation report showed underlying price pressures remain contained. Bitcoin rose about 1.9% in 24 hours to about $62,600, leading major currencies, according to data from CoinDesk.
Headline inflation rose 0.5% monthly and 4.2% annually, the fastest annual pace since April 2023, but energy did most of the work, rising 3.9% monthly and accounting for more than 60% of the increase as oil rose on the Iran conflict.
Core inflation, which excludes food and energy and is the indicator on which the Federal Reserve relies, increased only 0.2% in the month, below the 0.3% expected, and 2.9% in the year.
The rebound is superficial and is concentrated in bitcoin. BTC is down less than 1% over the past seven days, maintaining its 200-week average, while the rest of the major tokens remain in the red for the week. Ether is down about 6.5% to about $1,651, XRP is down 7.5% near $1.12, Solana is down 7.4% around $65, and dogecoin is down 7%. BNB held up better with a 2.1% weekly loss.
Traders now await the Fed meeting on June 17, where markets expect no rate changes. The hot headline gives the Hawks cover to remain restrictive, while the soft core gives the Doves room to argue that the press is tight and energy-driven.
Another widely cited catalyst is the public offering of Elon Musk-owned satellite, rocket and artificial intelligence company SpaceX, which is priced later on Thursday and is expected to begin trading on Friday at a valuation of $1.8 trillion.
The company’s stock is already four times oversubscribed, with some singular entities bidding up to $10 billion for the shares, according to Bloomberg.
