Bitcoin price today: falls to $119k from record high as hot US PPI weighs

Investing.com-- Bitcoin traded lower on Friday after hitting record highs above $124,000 in the previous session as hotter-than-expected U.S. producer inflation dented hopes for aggressive Federal Reserve easing next month.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency last traded 2.2% lower at $119,112.5 as of 02:04 ET (06:04 GMT).

It jumped to a record high of $124,436.8 in the previous session but retreated sharply after the release of PPI data.

World no.2 crypto Ether also retreated after flirting with record high levels.

Investors recalibrate Fed cut bets after strong PPI data 

U.S. producer prices rose 0.9% month-on-month in July, the largest gain since June 2022 and far above economists’ expectations for a 0.2% increase, according to Labor Department data released on Thursday. 

The upside surprise revived inflation worries and tempered the prospect of a larger rate cut from the Federal Reserve in September.

Money markets pared back bets on a 50-basis-point cut in September and shifted toward a quarter-point move, with traders assigning around a 90% probability to 25 bps after the PPI print. 

The recalibration helped nudge the dollar higher and weighed on risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.

Crypto markets had rallied this week, helped by a soft consumer inflation report and renewed institutional participation and momentum from recent policy developments that investors see as supportive for digital assets. 

Trump family crypto firm hunts Asia targets for bitcoin treasury – FT

American Bitcoin, a U.S. cryptocurrency miner backed by Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, is seeking acquisitions in Asia to build bitcoin reserves, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. 

The company aims to buy a listed firm in Japan and potentially Hong Kong to hoard crypto, mirroring Michael Saylor’s Strategy model, the report said. 

American Bitcoin, set to go public in September via a reverse merger with Gryphon Digital Mining, said it is exploring “accretive opportunities” overseas but has made no binding commitments, according to the FT.

Crypto price today: altcoins retreat in line with Bitcoin

Most altcoins also fell on Friday after sharp gains earlier this week.

World no.2 crypto Ethereum fell 2.9% to $4,639.89, after jumping near record high levels in the previous session.

World no. 3 crypto XRP dropped 4.1% to $3.13.

Solana declined 5.1%, while Cardano slipped over 6%, and Polygon lost 5.5%.

Among meme tokens, Dogecoin dropped 7%, while $TRUMP retreated 5.6%.