Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Price Trades Above $81,500 as Fed Keeps Rates Steady in Split Vote

The Federal Reserve left its benchmark rate unchanged Wednesday, holding the federal funds target range at 3.75% to 4%. The bitcoin price showed some volatility around $81,000.

The decision passed 10-2, and the dissents carry as much weight as the outcome. Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack wanted a quarter-point increase. It is the first time since 1992 that a Fed governor and a regional bank president have dissented together on the same side.

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh faced reporters after the vote and said politics played no role in the decision, days before the midterm elections. Warsh has said he does not favor forward guidance absent a crisis, which leaves investors to read the data themselves. 

The committee’s statement dropped its earlier language about when a hike might support a return to 2% inflation. In its place is a line saying more information will guide the policy stance. The Fed also described growth as strong, up from solid.

The signal points toward tightening. Fed funds futures and the Fed’s own dot plot lean toward a rate increase by December, and some pricing puts the odds near three in four. Inflation has been running hot, and the two dissenters are the officials who want to act on it.

Bitcoin price reaction

Bitcoin price’s reaction was restrained. The bitcoin price spiked to about $81,700 in the minutes after the announcement, fell below $80,500, and then recovered toward $81,000. Most traders expected a hold, so the muted move surprises nobody.

Bitcoin’s first response to Fed news tends to be modest, and that the real direction often emerges over the following day. Spot Bitcoin ETFs drew $110 million in net inflows on October 26 and $176 million on October 27, a sign that some institutional money is buying the dip. Other observers have flagged large holders selling into strength.

That tension defines crypto’s position right now. Bitcoin sits about a third below its October 2025 record near $126,000. A rate-hike path works against an asset that has thrived on cheap money, and the market has spent months adjusting to the possibility that the easy-money era is over. 

Some traders read the hold as evidence the Fed will move slowly. Others see December as the real test. For now, the level to watch is a bitcoin price of $80,000. It has held as support in recent sessions, and a clean break below it would expose the next floor. 

Warsh and his colleagues have said they will wait for incoming data before acting. Bitcoin will have to wait along with everyone else.

Midterms up next

Bitcoin’s next big political test arrives on November 3, when voters across the country head to the polls. Crypto has not really dominated the campaign trail. 

The crypto industry spent about $176 million on more than 100 midterm races to build a bipartisan bloc in Congress that could protect its interests after President Donald Trump left office. Fairshake, the industry’s largest super PAC, led the effort and directed strategy as it had in the 2024 cycle.

At the time of writing, the bitcoin price is $81,478.

This post Bitcoin Price Trades Above $81,500 as Fed Keeps Rates Steady in Split Vote first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

The Federal Reserve has held its benchmark interest rate at 3.75%–4.00% on Oct. 28, with two officials favoring another quarter-point hike as Bitcoin trades near $80,800. The Federal Open Market Committee approved the decision by a 10–2 vote, according to…

Bitcoin price recovers above $80,000 as ETF inflows and exchange withdrawals offer support, while Fed uncertainty and Iran tensions keep traders cautious.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Price Rests Near $80,500 as Midterms, Fed Decision Loom

Bitcoin price traded near $80,500 most of Tuesday, holding above the $80,000 level that has become the market’s line in the sand. Prices ranged between roughly $79,400 and $80,800 over the day, according to Bitcoin Magazine Pro data, and the asset was up about 0.3% over the prior 24 hours by mid-afternoon Eastern time.

The steadiness follows a rough stretch. Bitcoin price fell below $80,000 on Monday as investors cut risk exposure, weighed down by concerns about AI-sector valuations and higher oil prices. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have also been shedding money. Still, the selling hasn’t turned into panic. Bitcoin price has mostly stayed in a band between about $79,000 and $81,000 this week.

The longer view is harder on anyone who bought near the top. Bitcoin’s all-time high sits near $126,000, set in October 2025, and the price is roughly 30% below where it was a year ago.

The Federal Reserve’s policy meeting runs October 27 and 28, with the decision due Wednesday. The central bank has held its target range at 3.75% to 4% after raising it in September, and officials have signaled another increase may be needed by year-end. 

Market odds leaned toward a hold the last time they were clearly reported in early October, but those numbers are stale and likely have moved. Traders will watch Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s press conference for hints about a December hike.

Bitcoin price logic amidst the midterms

The logic for Bitcoin is simple. Higher rates drain liquidity from speculative assets, so a hawkish surprise would likely push the price back toward $80,000 or below. 

A hold, or a softer tone, could give buyers room to push toward the $88,000 range seen earlier this fall. The November 3 midterm elections add another layer. Prediction markets have favored Democrats winning both chambers of Congress, according to one Polymarket reading cited in recent coverage. 

For crypto, the most immediate policy question is the pending market structure bill, and lawmakers’ votes on it could shape how the industry approaches the races. Bitcoin and other risk assets have tended to rally in the 12 months after past midterm cycles. 

TD Cowen analysts have warned the results could stall the CLARITY Act for two years. Prediction markets gave Democrats a 90% chance of winning the House and 62% of winning the Senate, a scenario TD Cowen called the most negative for bitcoin. 

A split Congress, with Republicans holding the Senate, was seen as better, while a Republican sweep was viewed as the best path for crypto. The bill had stalled after a failed Senate cloture vote in September, with ethics provisions and stablecoin yield still dividing lawmakers.

At the time of writing, the bitcoin price is roughly $80,600.

This post Bitcoin Price Rests Near $80,500 as Midterms, Fed Decision Loom first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin faces a volatile week as the Fed announces rates on October 28, followed by U.S. PCE inflation, GDP figures and major technology earnings.

Bitcoin price falls below $80,000 as liquidations and ETF outflows weigh on BTC, with the Fed decision and options expiry approaching this week.

TL;DR: US household inflation expectations rose in October while consumer sentiment barely changed. The readings add context ahead of the Federal Reserve’s October 27–28 meeting, without establishing a rate decision or a Bitcoin price direction.

American households expect prices to rise faster over both the next year and the longer run, according to the University of Michigan’s final October survey. For Bitcoin traders heading into another Federal Reserve decision, the release adds an inflation concern to an already important policy week.

The university’s October 23 results put year-ahead inflation expectations at 4.7%, up from 4.6% in September. Long-run expectations increased from 3.4% to 3.5%. Both measures rose for a second consecutive month and reached their highest readings since May.

Consumer sentiment was almost unchanged at 48.0, compared with 48.1 in September. Beneath that steady headline, the current-conditions index fell to 46.7 while the expectations index improved to 48.8. The university linked weaker conditions for buying durable goods to affordability concerns and higher interest rates.

A policy meeting with competing pressures

The Fed’s published calendar places its next meeting on October 27–28. Its most recent decision, on September 16, raised the federal funds target by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.75%–4.00%. That statement described inflation as elevated and reaffirmed the central bank’s 2% objective.

Michigan’s figures measure what households expect. They are separate from actual consumer-price inflation and from the Fed’s own projections. Comparing the survey’s percentages directly with the policy target would overlook differences in the measure and the time horizon.

The distinction does not make expectations irrelevant. In an earlier Fed explanation of the subject, then-Governor Adriana Kugler described longer-term expectations as a useful indication of monetary-policy credibility because they tend to respond less to short-lived price shocks.

The implication for crypto depends on the response

One plausible reading is that rising expectations make it harder for policymakers to sound comfortable about inflation. The weaker assessment of current conditions creates a competing concern: households are already feeling the effects of expensive credit and reduced purchasing power. Neither signal determines the committee’s decision by itself.

For Bitcoin and Ethereum, the transmission runs through financing conditions, the return available on cash and investors’ willingness to hold volatile assets. Higher expected inflation can strengthen the appeal of scarce assets in principle, while tighter monetary policy can work against speculative demand. Treating the survey as an automatic bullish or bearish signal misses that tension.

Dollar stablecoins illustrate another distinction: maintaining a dollar peg does not protect a holder from changes in that dollar’s purchasing power.

The immediate checkpoint is Wednesday’s policy announcement. Traders will have to judge the decision alongside the Fed’s explanation of inflation and growth, rather than infer an entire rate path from one household survey.

Written by the News Desk and edited by Samuel Rae.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Slides Towards $81,000 as Oil Above $110 Revives Rate-Hike Bets

Bitcoin’s price on Thursday slid — erasing the gains it made earlier in the week — after oil prices jumped. 

The largest cryptocurrency was down by nearly 4% over a 24-hour period on Thursday in New York, trading as low as $81,331 at one point. 

On Wednesday, the price of the top cryptocurrency was fast closing in on $85,000 as investors piled back into tech stocks following Elon Musk’s SpaceX earnings. 

But conflict in the Middle East pushed the oil price higher, spurring inflation fears with U.S. A surging oil price can — at least in the short-term — hurt the price of bitcoin and other “risk-on” assets because it increases the chances of the U.S. central bank raising interest rates. 

Bitcoin has in the past done well with low interest rates because of increased liquidity, moving at times with tech stocks and the Nasdaq. 

Stocks on Thursday slid on the news of more attacks from the Yemeni Houthis on Saudi Arabia — stoked fears of oil supply disruptions and a wider Middle East conflict.

Bitcoin has typically faced downward pressure on news of war and rallied in hopes of a ceasefire. 

When the U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran in February, the coin nosedived, and had been shaky on news of war in March and April. 

Oil rising is stoking what many politicians are calling an affordability crisis in the U.S. Americans will go to the polls on November 3, and surging inflation is one of the hottest topics. 

The Federal Reserve has said getting inflation down in the world’s largest economy is its top priority. 

Despite the price of bitcoin dipping, the asset just had its best quarter in years, and analysts have said the coin is now in a bull market after rising above its 365-day moving average. 

Bitcoin last month shrugged off the Federal Reserve raising interest rates and lawmakers blocking landmark crypto legislation, the Clarity Act. 

This post Bitcoin Slides Towards $81,000 as Oil Above $110 Revives Rate-Hike Bets first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.

Bitcoin Magazine

Hot Inflation Data Puts Bitcoin Under Pressure, but ‘Difficult’ Isn’t ‘Bearish’: CoinShares

Bitcoin’s price has dropped this week as new inflation data has come in hot. 

But while the largest cryptocurrency’s near-term setup is difficult, it’s not “fundamentally bearish,” according to European asset manager CoinShares’ Head of Research, James Butterfill. 

In a report Friday, the analyst said that bitcoin’s near-term challenge stems from a macro environment that’s caught in an awkward middle ground: inflation is too elevated for the Fed to ease up, while the economy is too resilient to force a policy pivot. 

“Bitcoin and the broader digital asset market have moved lower on the resulting hawkish repricing, a reminder of how sensitive Bitcoin remains to monetary policy over short horizons,” he wrote. 

Bitcoin’s price recently stood at $81,473, down 2% over a seven-day period. 

The price of the leading cryptocurrency dropped Wednesday after data showed that U.S. consumer prices shot up more than expected in September. 

Then, on Thursday, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said that U.S. producer prices rose in September at the fastest pace in more than four years. 

This has weighed on bitcoin’s price because higher inflation means the Federal Reserve may hike interest rates. Higher borrowing costs can restrict the liquidity the digital coin needs to rally. 

The Federal Reserve hiked rates in September and will meet at the end of this month. 

But Butterfill added that investors should be patient and advised investors to instead think in the long-term and not react to any single weekly data point. 

“For investors, that argues for reading the coming weeks as a data-driven range rather than a trend, and for sizing digital asset exposure against a strategic allocation rather than against this week’s print,” he wrote. 

Bitcoin spent the first half of 2026 in a bear market but had its best quarter in years after surging in August and September. Analysts have now said the leading cryptocurrency is now back in a bull market after trading above its 365-day moving average. 

This post Hot Inflation Data Puts Bitcoin Under Pressure, but ‘Difficult’ Isn’t ‘Bearish’: CoinShares first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Briefly Slides Below $80,000 On More Hot Inflation Data

Bitcoin’s price momentarily dipped below $80,000 on Thursday following more hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data. 

The price of the biggest cryptocurrency recently stood at $81,028 after dropping as low as $79,805 on Thursday morning in New York. 

Over a 24-hour period, it’s only down over 1% after making a recovery. But over the past week, it’s shed nearly 3% of its value. 

Data Thursday from the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics showed U.S. producer prices rose in September at the fastest pace in more than four years.

The numbers came one day after September’s Consumer Price Index came out higher than expected. 

Bitcoin has news that high prices won’t go away in the world’s largest economy — leading traders to bet that the Federal Reserve may keep interest rates higher for longer. 

The Federal Reserve will make a decision on what to do with interest rates at the end of this month. 

Bitcoin’s price has previously done well in a low interest rate environment as when borrowing costs are cut, more liquidity can be used to buy the cryptocurrency. 

But the Fed this year has raised interest rates, with the head of the central bank claiming that getting inflation down in the U.S. is its number one priority. 

The biggest cryptocurrency is currently nearly 36% below the record of $126,080 it touched last October. 

Despite the dip this week, analysts have declared the asset to be out of the bear market it spent most of 2026 following a rally in August and September. 

This post Bitcoin Briefly Slides Below $80,000 On More Hot Inflation Data first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Slips Below $83,000 After Hotter-Than-Expected US Inflation Data

The price of bitcoin slid Wednesday after data dropped showing that U.S. consumer prices shot up more than expected in September due to rising gasoline prices. 

The biggest cryptocurrency by market cap was recently trading for close to $82,827 after dropping nearly 1% over a 24-hour period. At one point on Wednesday morning in New York, bitcoin fell as low as nearly $82,331. 

Over the past seven days, the coin has dropped by more than 1%. Bitcoin’s price had its best quarter in years after rallying in August and September and leading many analysts to declare it to have exited a bear market. 

But sticky inflation is still weighing — in the short-term — on the cryptocurrency. 

Data Wednesday showed that the Consumer Price Index rose 0.6% in September after climbing 0.4% in August. 

In the 12 months through ​September, the CPI advanced 3.7% after rising 3.4% in August, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said. 

High prices in the U.S., in part spurred by the Trump Administration’s decision to attack Iran with Israel this year, have led the Federal Reserve to hint it may keep interest rates higher for longer. 

The central bank in September said getting inflation down was its number one priority and hiked rates. 

Bitcoin’s price has been sensitive to interest rate hikes in the past because higher borrowing costs restrict the liquidity the digital coin needs to run — along with other “risk-on” assets like stocks. 

Still, the price of bitcoin rose in September despite the Federal Reserve talking tough on inflation.  

The central bank will reveal what it plans to do with interest rates on October 28. As of Wednesday, fed funds futures were pricing a 47% chance of a rate hike at the Fed’s October meeting, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

This post Bitcoin Slips Below $83,000 After Hotter-Than-Expected US Inflation Data first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Falls Below $81,000 as Oil Spikes, Fed Talks Tough

Bitcoin’s price has dropped further, sliding with other assets as the oil price continued to climb and the Federal Reserve made a hawkish statement. 

The price of the leading asset recently stood at $81,203 after dropping as low as nearly $80,922 at one point on Thursday morning in New York. 

Over the past day, bitcoin’s price has shed nearly 3% of its value; over a seven-day period, it’s down by 4%. 

Just last week, the coin seemed to be closing in on the $90,000 mark after a phenomenal September rally and one of its best quarters in years. 

But so-called Uptober — the month of October typically gives bitcoin investors good returns — is starting slow on a surging oil price. 

This week, the price of Brent crude has jumped following renewed attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. President Trump also hinted that talks with Iran weren’t going the way he wanted. 

A surging oil price this year has — at least in the short-term — hurt the price of bitcoin and other “risk-on” assets because it increases the chances of the U.S. central bank raising interest rates. Bitcoin has in the past done well with low interest rates because of increased liquidity. 

In a speech Thursday, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller also said further interest-rate hikes will likely be needed to slow inflation. He did add that there was “flexibility” about ‌the pace of increases. 

Oil prices have jumped since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February, which resulted in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation by Iran. Higher oil prices have meant sticky and climbing prices around the world — including in the States. 

But bitcoin’s price in September appeared to shrug off comments by the new Federal Reserve Chair, Kevin Warsh, and jumped despite the central bank raising interest rates. 

Despite the bitcoin price dip, the coin, according to some analysts, has entered a bull market again. The biggest cryptocurrency spent most of 2026 in a bear market after reaching record highs in October 2025. It is currently more than 30% below its record of $126,080. 

This post Bitcoin Falls Below $81,000 as Oil Spikes, Fed Talks Tough first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Price Surges Above $87,000 on Softer-Than-Expected Jobs Data

The price of bitcoin surged above $87,000 on Friday morning in New York, buoyed by constant exchange-traded fund flows and a jobs report showing that unemployment in the U.S. had ticked up. 

Bitcoin’s price recently stood at $85,990 after a 2% jump over a 24-hour period. Over the past week, it has also risen by more than 2%. 

Nonfarm payrolls increased 29,000 last month after a downward revision to the prior two months, Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed Friday. 

JUST IN: Bitcoin jumps to $87,000 as U.S. Unemployment Rate comes in at 4.2%, higher than expectations pic.twitter.com/jqtU8Q9zsd

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) October 2, 2026

Weaker-than-expected jobs data can give a lift to riskier assets like bitcoin and stocks, whose prices tend to swing more sharply. 

A softer labor market typically means less consumer spending, which eases pressure on prices. That could make the Federal Reserve less inclined to keep raising interest rates to fight inflation.

Many economists and politicians have said the U.S. is in the midst of an affordability crisis, and the topic is a hot one ahead of the November midterm elections. 

The Federal Reserve’s new chair, Kevin Warsh, has said that prices in the world’s biggest economy are too high and that the central bank is fully focused on making life more affordable again. 

Bitcoin investors shrugged off the central bank’s interest rate hike in September, climbing on the news. 

The largest cryptocurrency started rallying in August on news that the U.S. Treasury Department said it would more than double the size of its government debt repurchases. The coin had its best run in three years and third best August ever.  

The coin’s price has benefited from the so-called debasement trade: when investors buy certain assets to hedge against currency being devalued. The dollar slid in value in August. 

It continued to have a good September, rising nearly 6% over a 30-day period. 

October has historically delivered good returns for bitcoin investors, with traders dubbing the phenomenon “Uptober.” 

This post Bitcoin Price Surges Above $87,000 on Softer-Than-Expected Jobs Data first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin’s Price Jumps Above $85,000 on Lighter-Than-Expected Inflation Data

Bitcoin’s price rose — albeit slightly — on data Wednesday showing that inflation had risen slower than expected. 

The Fed’s main inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures price index, increased in August by 3.4% on headline and 3% for core — both well below estimates.

Bitcoin’s price recently stood at $84,246 after jumping as high as $85,518 at one point Wednesday morning in New York. 

The news means the Federal Reserve is less likely to hike interest rates in October. High inflation is causing the U.S. central bank to take a more hawkish approach to managing monetary policy. 

In his first speech since he became Fed chair, Kevin Warsh in August said the U.S. central bank had “more work to do” to fight inflation. 

Then, in September, the bank raised interest rates. “The plain fact is that inflation is too high, and has been for too long,” Warsh said at the time. 

Still, bitcoin’s price appeared to shrug off the move and had a good run in the week following the central bank’s move. 

The coin surged as high as $87,158 earlier this month. Some analysts have said that investors are shrugging off the move as they don’t expect the Fed to change policy and start hiking rates successively. 

Bitcoin has rallied since the U.S. Treasury announced plans to more than double the size of its government debt repurchases.

JUST IN: US Treasury Department to buy back up to $6 billion in longer-term debt AGAIN tomorrow

Buy Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/0fc6V7u4oH

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) September 30, 2026

Bitcoin’s price has in the past performed well in a low interest rate environment, along with other “risk-on” assets. 

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly put pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. 

Last year, Trump threatened to fire ex-Fed Chair Jerome Powell and said he did a “bad job” for not lowering interest rates. 

This post Bitcoin’s Price Jumps Above $85,000 on Lighter-Than-Expected Inflation Data first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.