Bitcoin price today: steady at $114k after hotter-than-expected August CPI

Investing.com-- Bitcoin rose marginally on Thursday, extending overnight gains as soft U.S. producer inflation data fueled increased optimism that interest rate cuts were imminent, with focus squarely on upcoming data on consumer prices. 

Meanwhile, the closely watched consumer price index (CPI) rose more than expected in August, but the data did not trigger any meaningful reaction from cryptocurrency markets.

Other cryptocurrencies showed mixed reaction in the wake of the release.

Bitcoin rose 0.7% to $114,610.0 by 10:06 ET (14:06 GMT). The crypto was still nursing steep losses logged in a tumble from mid-August record highs. 

Inflation heats up, jobless claims spike ahead of Fed meeting

U.S. consumer prices rose more than anticipated in August while jobless claims unexpectedly surged, complicating the outlook for the Federal Reserve just days before its policy meeting.

Bitcoin saw no significant movement after the report, maintaining slight gains in the past 24 hours. 

The consumer price index (CPI) climbed 0.4% on the month, the sharpest rise since January, lifting the annual rate to 2.9%. Core CPI, which strips out food and energy, rose 0.3% and 3.1% year-on-year, in line with forecasts.

At the same time, weekly jobless claims jumped to 263,000, far above the 235,000 estimate and the highest level in nearly four years.

The data comes as Fed officials prepare to decide on interest rates at their Sept. 17 meeting.

Futures markets fully price a quarter-point cut from the current 4.25%–4.5% range, though traders see some risk of a larger half-point move given labor market weakness and still-contained inflation.

Bitcoin advanced earlier this week after U.S. producer price index data read softer than expected for August.

The print helped quell some concerns that Trump’s trade tariffs would spark an outsized rise in inflation, and saw markets largely maintain bets on an interest rate cut by the Fed next week.

Lower rates stand to benefit crypto, given that they free up more market liquidity for investing in speculative assets. The Fed’s steady rate cuts through 2024 were a major point of support for Bitcoin, which rallied exponentially last year. 

Figure, Gemini in focus amid crypto IPO boom 

Crypto markets were also looking to a slew of major U.S. initial public offerings in the industry scheduled for this week. 

Stablecoin operator Figure Technology raised at least $787 million in its U.S. IPO on Wednesday, selling 31.5 million shares at $25 each, above its previously guided range. The size of the share offering was also increased.

This came just a day after the Winklevoss twins-backed exchange Gemini hiked its proposed IPO price range, and said it was targeting a valuation of up to $3.08 billion. 

Circle Internet Group Inc (NYSE:CRCL), Bullish Inc (NYSE:BLSH), and eToro Group Ltd (NASDAQ:ETOR) all marked strong public market debuts this year, as a flurry of friendly regulations from the Donald Trump administration spurred increased investor interest in the industry. 

Crypto price today: altcoins muted, tracking Bitcoin

Broader crypto prices showed rangebound performance on Thursday, in tandem with Bitcoin.

World no.2 crypto Ether was flat at $4,427.52, while XRP rose marginally to $3.0040.

Solana rose 2% and Cardano fell 1%.

Among meme tokens, Dogecoin added 2.5%, while $TRUMP slid 0.7%. 

(Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.)