Bitcoin slips near $63,500 as traders look past CPI to Fed’s next tests

Bitcoin slipped to about $63,500 after an in-line U.S. inflation report that eased nerves but failed to spark a broad crypto rally, with most major tokens declining on the day.

July inflation matched forecasts, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve can wait on further rate moves and prompting modest gains in gold, equities and some digital assets.

Global stock markets reacted more positively than crypto, with Asia’s MSCI index and Korea’s Kospi advancing sharply even as some U.S. tech names and oil prices retreated. Bitcoin fell to near $63,500 on Thursday, down over half a percent on the day and almost 2% on the week, as an in-line U.S. inflation report proved enough to calm nerves but not enough to move the market.

Hyperliquid's HYPE was the standout, up over 3% to $56 though flat on the week. Tron added marginally to just under 34 cents and is up 2% over seven days. Everything else fell. Dogecoin dropped almost 3% to 7 cents, XRP over 1% to $1 and is down almost 5% on the week, BNB over 1% to $610, solana under 1% to $76 and ether marginally to $1,880.

July's numbers landed almost exactly where economists expected. Headline inflation rose 0.1% on the month and 3.4% on the year, with the core measure that strips out food and energy up 0.2% and easing to 2.5%. That was enough to trim the odds of a Federal Reserve rate rise in September, which futures markets cut to about 38% from 46% before the release.

Gold rose 1.3% in the immediate aftermath, ether just over 1%, bitcoin around half a percent and S&P 500 futures 0.2%. Gabe Selby, head of research at CF Benchmarks, told CoinDesk that bitcoin moves hardest when inflation data forces a rethink on rates, gaining an average 3.25% across the three occasions in the past nine releases when inflation came in below expectations.

A downside surprise on July 14 was followed by a 4.24% rally. "An in-line report can remove a tail risk," Selby said. "It takes a genuine surprise to create a catalyst."

He further sees room for the Fed to wait, with shelter costs up just 0.1%, energy down 1.5% and gasoline down 2.9%, and some goods categories now lapping last year's tariff-driven increases. The next tests are the Jackson Hole gathering of central bankers later this month, the Sept. 4 jobs report and the Sept. 11 inflation release.

Equities took the news better. MSCI's Asia Pacific index rose almost 1% with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix the biggest contributors, and Korea's Kospi rallied almost 4% into a technical bull market, up 22% in ten days. The mood was not uniform, with Cisco falling over 4% after hours on underwhelming earnings and Cerebras Systems dropping 17% on declining hardware sales.

Brent crude snapped a six-day run of gains, easing after a stretch that had taken it to $90 a barrel. That came as an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps adviser, General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, said Iran was preparing to carry out operations on U.S. soil under a new military doctrine. Disclosure & Polices: CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry.

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