New York, June 9, 2026, 14:04 (EDT)
- Bitcoin slipped near $61,000 with traders paring risk ahead of Wednesday’s U.S. inflation data.
- May CPI is forecast to be up 4.2% on the year, so economists say the chance of a Fed rate hike is still on the table.
- Ether and Solana fell, while crypto stocks also lost ground, tracking the Nasdaq as it gave back gains from earlier.
Bitcoin fell toward $61,000 again Tuesday, erasing its early-week rise as traders waited for a U.S. inflation report that could shift Federal Reserve rate bets and weigh on crypto prices. CoinDesk said bitcoin was trading near its session low after U.S. stocks lost earlier gains. Live prices showed bitcoin around $61,700, down roughly 3% on the day.
Traders are watching the May Consumer Price Index due out Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. FactSet is calling for a 4.2% year-on-year rise, with core CPI—stripping out food and energy—at 2.9%.
Inflation would stay well above the Fed’s 2% goal, putting pressure on a market where traders are already backing off bets on rate cuts. According to a Reuters poll, about 70% of economists see the Fed holding its policy rate at 3.50%-3.75% through 2026. But rate futures still price in one or more hikes by year-end.
The selloff hit more than just crypto. Ether hovered near $1,643, off around 2.7%. Solana dropped to $64.81, falling about 3.9% based on live prices. As CoinDesk reported, crypto-linked stocks like Strategy and Coinbase also declined.
No-yield assets have struggled. BeInCrypto reported that bitcoin dropped from around $82,000 since its May high and gold was stuck around its lowest in nearly three months. Both faced pressure as traders moved away from bets on rate cuts and started pricing in possible rate hikes.
April’s CPI data revealed stress in the numbers. The Labor Department reported a 3.8% year-over-year rise for April, with energy prices jumping 17.9%. Gasoline shot up 28.4%. Traders are now eyeing what May’s data will show.
ByteTree CIO Charlie Morris told CoinDesk a “4-handle” inflation print—market jargon for inflation starting with 4—shouldn’t be ignored by investors. Morris pointed to previous times when inflation above 4% coincided with stock market trouble. CoinDesk
Tom Porcelli, chief economist at Wells Fargo, told the Reuters poll it’s “very hard for the Fed to justify any action” at this point—either cuts or hikes. Philip Marey, senior U.S. strategist at Rabobank, said the risk now points to more persistent inflation, fewer cuts and maybe even hikes. Reuters
Some buyers are still in the market despite what the data says. Jim Ferraioli, director of crypto research at Schwab, said at a conference that bitcoin is “cheap” when compared to other assets on value, and warned that anyone holding out for a clear catalyst could end up late. CoinDesk
James Butterfill, CoinShares’ head of research, told CoinDesk the slide in crypto prices seems tied to investor sentiment, not any change in fundamentals. He pointed to $5.8 billion leaving digital asset investment products in the past few weeks, calling it the largest outflow in over a year.
Washington is another area to watch for crypto traders. CryptoRank, via Coin Edition, said the focus was also on the CLARITY Act, a crypto market-structure bill in the U.S., as traders waited for any sign of movement toward a Senate floor vote. Still, traders saw inflation data as the more pressing issue right now.
The setup could flip fast. If CPI lands softer, that may ease rate hike bets, giving bitcoin and gold a break. A hotter read, though, could put hike odds over 80%, BeInCrypto said. But for now, the market isn’t positioned for much negative news.
