Bitcoin Clings to $19K as Traders Place Bets Ahead of Key Inflation Data

BTC stabilized around $19,100 as stocks gained ahead of the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation data.

AccessTimeIconOct 12, 2022 at 5:46 p.m. UTC
Updated Oct 12, 2022 at 6:59 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Bitcoin held steady around $19,100, moving higher after two consecutive daily losses as stock traders bid up traditional markets ahead of Thursday’s expected release of key inflation data in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report.

The CoinDesk Market Index rose 0.59% over the past 24 hours. At press time, bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, slipped 0.12% after coming back from the low of $18,971 earlier in the day. Ether (ETH) was up 0.27%, trading below $1,300.

Investors remained in a wait-and-see mode following Wednesday's higher-than-expected U.S. producer price index (PPI) data, a measure of the price of goods sold by manufacturers. Despite the U.S. Federal Reserve's fight against inflation, wholesale prices rose 0.4% for September, compared with the Dow Jones estimate for a 0.2% increase.

Global macro sentiment has driven correlations across assets “back to extremes,” according to QCP Capital’s note. BTC’s correlation with equities and gold is “at all-time highs.” By contrast, the U.S. dollar’s correlation with bitcoin – historically an inverse relationship – is “at all-time lows.”

Stefan Rust, founder of economic data aggregator Truflation, said the markets would probably revert to a downward trend as the Federal Reserve continues its strategy of tightening monetary policy.

“In the past two years, crypto has been highly correlated to stocks and dependent on global fiat liquidity, so we can expect further drops or at least increased daily volatility around the release of the CPI figures tomorrow,” he told CoinDesk via an email.

Among altcoins, Solana’s native token SOL was down 2% after Solana-based decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Mango was hit by a $100 million exploit late Tuesday evening. As of press time, Mango's MNGO token was down 33%, according to CoinMarketCap.


Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

Jocelyn Yang

Jocelyn Yang is a markets reporter at CoinDesk. She is a recent graduate of Emerson College's journalism program.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.