Investing.com-- Bitcoin price fell slightly on Wednesday, seeing little positive movement even as the dollar weakened, although traders remained largely risk-averse ahead of key U.S. consumer inflation data.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency fell 0.9% over the past 24 hours to $61,974.9 by 01:28 ET (05:28 GMT).
Bitcoin saw little relief even as the dollar sank on Tuesday, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that current monetary policy was restrictive enough, indicating that interest rates will not rise further.
But Powell warned that the central bank had little confidence that inflation was moving back towards its 2% annual target.
This came after producer price index data read hotter than expected for April, potentially setting the stage for a strong consumer price index reading later on Wednesday.
Signs of dwindling capital flows into Bitcoin and crypto investment products, along with the threat of more regulatory action, also kept sentiment towards crypto markets muted.
Hong Kong crypto ETFs see bumper outflows
Three spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds in Hong Kong saw outsized outflows of nearly $40 million on Monday, wiping out two weeks of inflows since their debut on April 30.
While the immediate reason for the outflows was unclear, they also came as sentiment towards Hong Kong and Chinese markets soured amid increased U.S. trade tariffs on Beijing and mixed economic signals from China.
Outflows from the Hong Kong ETFs came amid dwindling capital inflows into their U.S. counterparts, as hype over the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs for U.S. markets ran dry.
While initial hype over their approval drove Bitcoin to record highs over $73,000 in early-March, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency has traded largely within a $60,000 to $70,000 trading range for the past two months, amid scant positive cues.
Bitcoin’s halving event passed with little price action, while threats of more regulatory action by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also kept traders averse towards crypto markets.
Crypto price today: Altcoins see extended losses ahead of CPI data
Broader cryptocurrency prices also retreated, as traders turned more risk averse ahead of the U.S. CPI data.
World no.2 token Ethereum fell more than 1%, while Solana and XRP lost 3% and 1.2%, respectively.
Gains in meme stocks- such as GME and AMC- also inspired fleeting gains in meme tokens. Dogecoin fell more than 3%, while Shiba Inu lost nearly 3%.
Sticky U.S. inflation is likely to keep interest rates high for longer- a scenario that bodes poorly for crypto markets, which usually thrive in low-rate, high-liquidity environments.