The Bitcoin price is pushing back toward $80,000 after a split U.S. inflation report briefly sent traders into defensive mode, then failed to keep the rally down. The move puts crypto investors in an awkward spot: inflation is still sticky, the Federal Reserve is facing pressure to stay tough, and yet risk appetite has returned.
The Consumer Price Index rose 3.4% year over year in August and 0.4% from the previous month, matching expectations and leaving the annual headline rate unchanged from July, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The more closely watched core CPI was harder to read. Excluding food and energy, annual inflation eased to 2.4% from 2.5% in July, its lowest level since 2021. But core prices climbed 0.3% month over month, beating the 0.2% economists had expected.
That monthly surprise briefly pushed the Bitcoin price lower. BTC opened Friday at $76,529 and slipped to around $76,040 shortly after the inflation release as traders weighed the possibility of a more hawkish Fed.
Then the mood changed.
Bitcoin climbed as high as $79,837 during the session and was trading near $79,007, up 3.24% on the day. Ethereum was even more energetic, gaining 7.48% to reclaim $2,611, while Solana rose 4.53% to move back above $100.
The reaction matters because the inflation report arrived just five days before the Federal Reserve’s September 15–16 meeting. It is also the last major economic release the central bank’s policymakers will see before the decision.
Bitcoin Price Has One Eye on the Fed and Another on $82K
Markets are still pricing a meaningful chance of a rate hike. CME FedWatch puts the probability of a 25-basis-point increase at roughly 69%, while Polymarket is at 62% and Myriad at 61%.
A hike would not come completely out of nowhere. Three regional Fed presidents dissented in favor of higher rates at the July meeting, and Chair Kevin Warsh said in his first Jackson Hole keynote that the Fed still has “work to do” on inflation.
For crypto, that creates a strange tension. The economic data did little to deliver the clean inflation cooling traders might have wanted, yet digital assets broadly absorbed the news and moved higher.
Sentiment followed prices almost immediately. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index jumped from 56 to 73, moving firmly into greed territory after Thursday’s hotter producer-price reading. The Altcoin Season Index, however, remains at 38, suggesting traders still favor Bitcoin rather than taking on broad altcoin risk.
That caution is visible elsewhere in the market.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $330.5 million in net outflows on the day, despite the rally. The split between stronger prices and weaker ETF flows is a reminder that institutional demand has not fully caught up with the latest move.
Derivatives traders were more active. Open interest across crypto futures increased 1.52% to $429.99 billion, while 24-hour trading volume rose 2.27% to $877.11 billion. The volatility also produced $897.09 million in liquidations, including $493.85 million from long positions and $403.24 million from shorts.
There was one particularly dramatic winner outside the largest coins. Zcash gained 4.71% over 24 hours and was up 23.09% over the week, making it the standout performer among the top 10 cryptocurrencies.
The chart, meanwhile, is giving bulls something more concrete to work with.
Bitcoin’s 50-day exponential moving average has moved above its 200-day average, creating what traders call a golden cross. The setup is generally interpreted as a sign that the medium-term trend has turned more bullish, in contrast with the bearish signal known as a death cross.
There is an important caveat: the crossover has only just happened, and the two averages remain close together. In other words, the signal is not yet technically well established.
Momentum indicators are also leaning constructive without flashing an obvious warning. Bitcoin’s Relative Strength Index is 59.7, comfortably below the 70 level commonly associated with overbought conditions. The Average Directional Index is in the 40s, above the 25 threshold traders often use to distinguish a stronger trend from market noise, while the DI+ line remains above DI-.
Still, the most important levels may sit below the current market rather than above it.
A Fibonacci retracement drawn from the summer low of $68,858 to the late-August high of $82,281 places Bitcoin’s key “golden zone” between $73,986 and $75,569. Holding that area would give bulls a stronger technical base if the market pulls back.
Above current prices, the late-August high at $82,281 is the more obvious test. A break above it would extend the rally and give traders another reason to believe the recent move has more room to run.
For now, the Bitcoin price has managed to turn a potentially uncomfortable inflation report into another push toward $80,000. The bigger question is whether that resilience survives the Fed’s next decision.