Bitcoin surged on Thursday, extending its overnight rebound as U.S. consumer inflation data came in line with expectations, boosting risk appetite and reinforcing bets on a December interest rate cut.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency recovered all of its losses from the past week and appeared to break out of the $90,000 to $100,000 trading range seen recently. Bitcoin climbed 3.5%, reaching $100,875.9 by 00:47 ET (05:47 GMT).
Other cryptocurrencies followed Bitcoin’s lead, with most altcoins posting even stronger gains as investor risk appetite increased. The potential for more favorable U.S. crypto regulations under a potential Donald Trump presidency also contributed to the strong performance of major cryptos throughout the week.
CPI Data Strengthens December Rate Cut Bets
Investors increased their expectations that the Federal Reserve will reduce interest rates by 25 basis points next week, following consumer price index data that met forecasts. While inflation remained persistent, raising concerns about the long-term direction of rates, the outlook for lower near-term rates fueled risk appetite. This also helped push Wall Street indexes to record highs in overnight trading.
Lower interest rates are generally positive for speculative assets like cryptocurrencies.
Microsoft Shareholders Reject Bitcoin Investment Proposal
Microsoft Corporation’s shareholders voted against a proposal to add Bitcoin to its balance sheet. The proposal, presented by the National Center for Public Policy Research, had argued that Bitcoin could serve as a reliable hedge against inflation.Shareholders, along with Microsoft’s board, rejected the proposal to invest in Bitcoin. The company has previously indicated that while it considers cryptocurrency as an investment option, it prefers less volatile assets.
Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, also failed to convince shareholders with his comments urging Microsoft to adopt Bitcoin. Saylor’s strategy of investing heavily in Bitcoin helped MicroStrategy’s stock soar by 450% this year, as investors viewed the company as a proxy for the cryptocurrency.
Crypto Prices Today: Altcoins Rebound with Bitcoin
Cryptocurrency prices surged across the board, with most assets recovering all their losses from the past week, following Bitcoin’s rise.
The second-largest cryptocurrency, Ether, climbed 6.9% to $3,911.99, while XRP rose 4.1% to $2.4225.
Cardano, Solana, and Polygon experienced gains ranging from 5% to 15%, while meme tokens like Dogecoin added 6.4%.
