Street Calls of the Week
Investing.com-- Bitcoin dipped below $110,000 on Friday, on track for a sharp weekly loss, as about $22 billion in cryptocurrency options were set to expire.
Meanwhile, U.S. data showed core inflation was flat in August, reinforcing expectations for Fed rate cuts later this year.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency last traded 1.7% lower at $109,350 as of 09:17 ET (13:17 GMT), after falling below $109,000 to a six-week low earlier in the session.
The token was set to drop more than 5% this week, while other altcoins were also poised for heavy weekly losses.
Bitcoin slips ahead of huge options expiry
The options expiry set for 08:00 UTC on Friday marks the end of the third quarter, exerting downward pressure on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
According to options exchange Deribit, over $17 billion in Bitcoin options were set to expire, with a significant portion of open interest concentrated on bullish contracts.
Such large expirations could exacerbate price volatility, especially if support levels fail to hold, reports said.
Earlier in the week, Bitcoin’s decline was attributed to a wave of liquidations in the derivatives market, with nearly $1.5 billion wiped out from crypto markets.
Reports showed that the sell-off was intensified by traders holding directional bets via options contracts that benefit from sharp swings, highlighting the persistent volatility.
Fed’s preferred inflation gauge steady in August, boosting rate cuts hopes
Recent U.S. economic data tempered investor expectations for aggressive Federal Reserve rate cuts.
The second-quarter GDP growth was revised up to a 3.8% annualized rate on Thursday, leading to speculation that the central bank may adopt a more cautious approach to monetary easing.
However, data released on Friday showed core inflation was unchanged in August, helping keep the central bank on track for upcoming interest rate cuts.
The Commerce Department said Friday that the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 0.3% last month, lifting the annual rate to 2.7% from 2.6% in July.
Excluding food and energy, core PCE increased 0.2% in August and remained at 2.9% on a year-over-year basis.
Both headline and core readings matched Dow Jones estimates.
Household finances showed firmer momentum. Personal income climbed 0.4% in August, while consumer spending advanced 0.6%, each 0.1 percentage point above forecasts.
The Fed’s 2% inflation target remains out of reach, but officials signaled last week they still expect to deliver two additional quarter-point cuts before year-end.
Kraken raises $500 million ahead of planned 2026 IPO
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has raised $500 million in fresh capital, a move that paves the way for its anticipated 2026 IPO, according to a report by Fortune.
The funding round, completed without a lead investor, valued the crypto exchange at $15 billion.
Participants included asset managers, venture capital firms, and co-CEO Arjun Sethi, who invested through his Tribe Capital fund, Fortune reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.
Kraken is the 14th biggest crypto exchange by volume, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Crypto miner TeraWulf plans to raise $3 bln for data center
Terawulf Inc (NASDAQ:WULF) is planning to raise approximately $3 billion to fund the expansion of its data centers through a structure backed by Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), TeraWulf’s Chief Financial Officer Patrick Fleury told Bloomberg.
The Bloomberg report stated that Morgan Stanley was arranging the potential transaction for TeraWulf, and a deal could take place in either the high-yield bond or leveraged loan markets.
Crypto price today: altcoins fall, Ether near 7-wk low
Most altcoins also fell on Friday, and were poised for sharp weekly losses.
World no.2 crypto Ethereum declined 1% to $3,928.17, remaining near its lowest level in seven weeks. Ether was set to drop around 12% this week.
World no. 3 crypto XRP fell 2.9% to $2.7451.
Solana dropped 2.3%, while Cardano lost 1.3%, and Polygon slipped 0.7%.
Among meme tokens, Dogecoin slid 2.2%, while $TRUMP retrated 1.5%.
(Ayushman Ojha contributed to this report.)