Bitcoin Downturn Amid Economic Growth

Bitcoin (BTC) saw a downturn, correlating with tech stocks, following unexpected U.S. economic growth data.

After Thursday’s opening bell, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 215.43 points (1.246%) to 17,126.98, while the S&P 500 dropped by 21.93 points (0.4%). Bitcoin failed to reverse its near-term downtrend after GDP data revealed a 2.8% growth in Q2 2024, surpassing economist forecasts of a 2% gain.

The largest digital asset by market capitalization traded flat over the past 24 hours, priced at $63,800 as of 10:24 a.m. ET according to The Block’s Price Page.

Odds for a September Rate Cut

Inflation pressures, as indicated by the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index, decreased from 3.4% to 2.6%, signaling progress towards the U.S. Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation target.

ING Bank economist James Knightly mentioned that Friday’s month-on-month core PCE print could yield numbers aligned with achieving 2% year-on-year inflation over time. He indicated that U.S. consumer spending is expected to slow in the latter half of 2024. “Business surveys certainly point to a weakening outlook, with today’s numbers not swaying the market from their belief in a September Fed rate cut,” he added.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) FedWatch tool indicated that interest rate traders raised the likelihood of a rate cut in September to 85.7%.