Bitcoin price today: eases to $119k as CPI data reveals modest July increase

Investing.com-- Bitcoin pulled back on Tuesday, reversing its weekend gains as risk appetite soured in anticipation of key U.S. inflation data, largely offsetting optimism over more favorable regulation in the United States.

The consumer price index (CPI) report, released later in the day, showed a slightly slower-than-expected inflation increase on an annual basis as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs demonstrated largely modest impacts.

Buying action by Metaplanet, the sixth-largest corporate holder of the crypto, did little to stimulate prices, while altcoins also stalled after clocking strong gains late last week. 

Bitcoin slipped 0.8% to $119,120 by 09:48 ET (13:48 GMT). 

Bitcoin, crypto tepid after CPI report

Bitcoin and broader crypto prices saw tepid price action following the softer-than-expected July CPI data. Earlier in the day, crypto and other risk-driven assets retreated as traders took some money off the board in anticipation of the report. 

U.S. consumer prices rose slightly less than expected in July, with President Donald Trump’s tariffs so far showing only modest effects. The CPI gained 0.2% from June and 2.7% from a year earlier, versus forecasts of 0.2% and 2.8%, the Labor Department said Tuesday.

Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, climbed 0.3% on the month and 3.1% year-on-year, matching expectations for the monthly figure and marking the largest monthly gain since January.

The release comes amid heightened political attention on the Bureau of Labor Statistics after Trump dismissed its commissioner earlier this month following a weak jobs report. He has nominated E.J. Antoni, a critic of the agency, as the next chief.

Markets see a September Federal Reserve rate cut as increasingly likely, with CME FedWatch data showing a 67% probability of an additional move in October, up from 55% before the CPI report.

Concerns over labor market weakness have been rising among Fed policymakers, potentially bolstering the case for easing.

Metaplanet buys 518 additional Bitcoin

Metaplanet Inc (TYO:3350) on Tuesday disclosed the purchase of an additional 518 Bitcoins, bringing the Japanese hotelier turned crypto treasury’s total hoard to 118,113 coins.

The company bought 518 Bitcoin for $61.4 million, at an average price of $118,519. 

The latest purchase comes after Metaplanet– the world’s sixth-largest corporate Bitcoin holder, behind Riot Platforms– said it planned to raise $3.7 billion through a stock offering, aimed largely at buying more Bitcoin. 

The company now holds about $1.85 billion worth of Bitcoin, as it ramped up its crypto buying over the past year. 

The strategy is largely in line with that of Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy, which used a slew of major equity issuances to fund its Bitcoin buying. The company is the world’s biggest corporate Bitcoin holder and logged a windfall in its valuation and its Bitcoin holdings as the crypto’s price leaped over the past year. 

Crypto price today: altcoins cool after strong gains 

Broader crypto prices were mixed following the CPI release, seeing range-bound price action after logging strong gains in the past few sessions. 

World no.2 crypto Ether added nearly 2% to $4,360.67, remaining close to 2021 record highs.

XRP fell 1.4% to $3.16. Solana and Cardano lost between 0.5% and 2%.

Among memecoins, Dogecoin fell 2.5%, while $TRUMP shed 1.5%.

(Additional reporting by Vahid Karaahmetovic.)