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Investing.com-- Bitcoin pulled back notably from its record high near $123,000 during Asian trading on Tuesday, as traders locked in profits and turned cautious ahead of a key U.S. consumer price index (CPI) report, which later showed a slight rise in inflation.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency last traded down 2.6% at $118,440 as of 09:58 ET (13:58 GMT).
The token reached an intraday high of $123,104.7 on Monday amid growing optimism around U.S. regulatory clarity and substantial institutional inflows.
Investors await ’crypto week’ updates
The rally coincided with the start of "Crypto Week" in the U.S. Congress on July 14. Lawmakers are expected to debate several key digital asset bills, including the GENIUS Act, CLARITY Act, and Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act.
The measures are aimed at introducing clearer regulatory frameworks for stablecoins and token classification.
This move has reinforced investor confidence and helped push Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to record-breaking levels.
Institutional investment has been a major catalyst. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded over $3.4 billion in inflows in the first half of July, including a record $2.2 billion in the last two days of the previous week, data from Sosovalue showed.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and his family have expanded into crypto over the past year, launching the World Liberty Financial project and a meme coin in January. Last week, investor Justin Sun said he would buy an additional $100 million of the $TRUMP coin.
Annual inflation rate rises to the highest level since February
U.S. consumer prices rose in June, reflecting the early effects of tariffs introduced by President Donald Trump.
The consumer price index increased 0.3% from the previous month, pushing the annual inflation rate to 2.7%, the highest since February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figures matched consensus forecasts.
Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.2% on the month, in line with expectations, while the annual rate held at 2.9%.
Although the headline rate had been easing earlier in the year—from 3% in January—June marked a reversal, with some signs that tariffs may be contributing to upward pressure on prices.
Despite the uptick, markets anticipate the Federal Reserve will hold rates steady in July and possibly deliver a 25 basis point cut in September.
Crypto price today: altcoins drop tracking Bitcoin losses
Most altcoins also eased on Tuesday, seeing similar profit-taking as in the biggest cryptocurrency.
World no.2 crypto Ethereum traded flat at $3,057.45, remaining near a five-month high.
World no. 3 crypto XRP lost 2.7% to $2.92.
Solana slipped 3.8%, and Cardano dropped 3%, while Polygon slumped over 5%.
Among meme tokens, Dogecoin plunged 5.2%, while $TRUMP declined 4.4%.
(Additional reporting by Vahid Karaahmetovic.)