Bitcoin Hovers Near $69,800 After Midnight Dip to $67,555
After briefly falling to roughly $67,555 at midnight, Bitcoin’s price hovered around $69,800. This was its lowest point since mid-August, according to the data that was accessible. The increase in producer prices in October was lower than expected, but the upswing continued nonetheless. Even yet, traders were bracing for a rate hike in December from the Federal Reserve, and the US dollar remained near a 19-month high. The current price of bitcoin was at 72,800 USD as of this morning, Thursday. On Thursday night, it dropped below $71,000, and by late in the night, it dropped much lower, breaking through the $70,000 mark and hitting a low at midnight. As a result of the shift, the price of bitcoin fell below its 200-week moving average, a long-term trend line that is located close to $68,000. It recovered to above $69,800 after the producer-price data, and buyers pushed it back over $69,000 before daybreak.
Friday saw the US Dollar Index maintain its above-103 level, the highest it has been since April 2025, following a three-day surge. Previous to the data, the 10-year Treasury yield was close to 5.15 percent, and according to sources, the two-year rate-which closely follows Fed expectations-was about to have its worst week since 2024. According to CME FedWatch statistics, dealers continue to view a quarter-point raise as the most likely outcome of the Federal Reserve’s meeting on December 8-9, with a 12% possibility of a half-point move. Along with New York Fed President John Williams’ Thursday statement that officials must move further due to excessive inflation, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller has introduced a 50 basis point hike. An increase in interest rates makes it more expensive to retain an asset that does not pay interest, and a stronger currency usually reduces demand for risky assets. Following this week’s consumer price index, which was higher than predicted, both factors have contributed to the downward pressure on bitcoin’s price.
Additionally, tech stocks have seen Bitcoin’s price fall. It was trading more on rates and the dollar than on the AI trade, as it declined 5.9% between Nov. 5 and Nov. 12, while the Nasdaq 100 gained 6.4%. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 index rose 0.6% on Friday following the producer-price report, as investors considered the news of Jensen Huang’s resignation as CEO of Nvidia. The fall below $70,000 set off a chain reaction of forced liquidation. Speculative bets on price increases accounted for roughly 89% of the total, as approximately $1.64 billion in cryptocurrency positions were liquidated within a 24-hour period. A whopping $916 million of the total came from Bitcoin positions alone. In the United States, spot bitcoin ETFs have ratcheted up the already considerable pressure. For the six days running, the funds have been losing money, with Thursday’s net outflow of almost $47.7 million bringing the total for the time to over $1.49 billion. Nearly $2 billion left BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust in the nine trading sessions preceding Wednesday.
The result is that the organization will have lost almost $1.56 billion by the end of 2026. Coincidentally, sentiment has also declined. Friday saw a widely followed cryptocurrency mood index hit its lowest point since July 8 at 20, and Bitcoin looks set to continue its downward spiral for a second year in a row. We are now taking a defensive stance. As the price dropped toward $68,500, we saw the first negative average funding rate for perpetual futures in a month. This means that short sellers are now paying to maintain their bets. Also, the order books are narrow. Significant Bitcoin exchanges’ order-book depth dropped to $72 million on November 9th, 33% below average. Markets are susceptible to sudden shifts in value because “liquidity remains thin while leverage stays elevated,” as put forth by Tanay Ved.
Failing to meet experts’ expectations of a 0.4% monthly rise after a revised 1.4% gain in September, the Labour Department announced on Friday that the Producer Price Index for final demand rose by 0.3% in October. The 0.3% increase in core prices, which do not include energy and food, was in line with forecasts. An unadjusted 6.5% year-over-year increase was the largest 12-month gain since November 2022, according to the headline index. The dollar was able to retain its position above 103 thanks to the somewhat colder report. Nevertheless, with the market already pricing in a December rate hike, bitcoin price isn’t seeing much reprieve as we approach the weekend.
