Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s leading cryptocurrency, surged past the $99,000 mark on Wednesday, fueled by escalating inflation concerns in the United States and a strong market reaction to recent macroeconomic data. Notably, earlier in the day, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 0.4% increase in consumer prices for December 2024, bringing the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) to 2.9%. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose by 3.2% year-over-year and 0.2% on a monthly basis, matching analysts’ forecasts. Meanwhile, prices for services, excluding housing and energy, saw a 0.3% uptick, contributing to concerns about persistent inflationary pressures. Analysts attributed the strength in equities and cryptocurrencies to declining Treasury yields and a weakening U.S. dollar, which often encourage risk-on sentiment among investors. Notably, December saw the Federal Reserve lower its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 4.25%-4.50%, contributing to increased liquidity and renewed investor interest in cryptocurrencies. With 97.3% of traders expecting no further rate hikes this month, according to CME FedWatch data, the crypto market is poised to maintain its upward momentum. “In the case of inflation, good news is actually good news, unlike the labor market, where good news often spells trouble for the market,” tweeted popular crypto analyst Benjamin Cohen. “As a result, Bitcoin has surged close to $100k, and the 10-year yield is taking a breather.” Notably, Bitcoin’s price responded sharply to the data, surging from $96,600 to nearly $100,000 within hours. This rally marked an impressive recovery, as Bitcoin had dipped as low as $89,600 earlier in the week on Monday. The crypto market rally extended beyond Bitcoin, with Ethereum gaining 4.17% to surpass $3,450 in the past 24 hours. XRP led the charge, surging 10.80% and briefly testing the $3 mark for the first time since 2018 before settling at $2.94. During the surge, Ripple’s market cap broke into the top 100 global assets, climbing 19 spots in just 24 hours to rank 99th with a valuation of $169.3 billion, according to 8Marketcap data. Looking ahead, analysts predict further gains for Bitcoin. CryptoQuant analyst “Crypto Dan” highlighted that aggressive short-term trading may not be ideal in the current market phase, noting that the bull market was still at play. “The upward cycle is still ongoing,” he noted . “ Bitcoin has rebounded to nearly $97,000, and the short-term SOPR data reveals corrections indicating profit-taking by major whales, which often prolongs corrections. However, the current profit-taking volume is significantly smaller than March, suggesting this correction will likely be shorter.” At press time, BTC was trading at $99,797, reflecting a 3.90% surge in the past 24 hours.
