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Investing.com – Bitcoin price fell on Wednesday as anticipation of key U.S. inflation data meant traders remained largely averse to highly speculative, risky assets.
Market sentiment appeared to be leaning towards safe havens such as the dollar and gold, with the yellow metal hitting a record high this week.
On the other hand, it fell 2.4% in the last 24 hours to $69,373.7 by 01:51 ET (05:51 GMT), tracking weakness in most other risky assets.
A rise in commodity prices – particularly oil and metals – also caused focus on the token to fall as markets bet that improving global economic conditions in the coming months will boost commodity demand.
Crypto Prices Today: CPI Awaits Further Rate Guidance
The focus now turned to US data later on Wednesday, which is expected to show inflation will remain stable through March.
The trend is giving the Federal Reserve less impetus to start cutting interest rates, a scenario that doesn't bode well for speculative assets like Bitcoin. The token, along with the broader crypto market, typically thrives in a low interest rate and high liquidity environment.
Bitcoin’s losses spilled over to other tokens. The world's second largest cryptocurrency fell 4.2%, while losing 1.1% and 3.6%, respectively.
In addition to the inflation data, these are also available. While the Fed said it would cut interest rates by 75 basis points, a number of officials questioned that prospect after the meeting, particularly given stubborn inflation.
The Bitcoin halving remains in focus
Still, losses in the world's largest cryptocurrency were contained in anticipation of the halving, which is scheduled to take place around April 20.
The event that will occur with the generation of block #. 840,000 on the Bitcoin blockchain will halve the rate at which new Bitcoins are mined.
The event is expected to reinforce the narrative that Bitcoin's relative scarcity will drive up its price.
Bitcoin had risen to a record high of over $73,000 in early 2023, largely due to increased capital flows following the US approval of spot exchange-traded funds.
However, recent data showed that these capital flows were slowing, raising some doubts about how much momentum Bitcoin still maintained.
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