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Bitcoin fell below $80,000 amid Fed rate expectations and rising oil prices.
Сryptocurrency
Bitcoin fell below the $80,000 mark on Monday as stronger-than-expected U.S.
employment data revived expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike this month, while rising oil prices amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran added pressure on risk assets.
Bitcoin traded at $79,381.99, down approximately 0.5% for the day.
Bitcoin had briefly risen above $82,000 last week, hitting a more than three-month high of around $82,178.6 on Thursday, before pulling back following Friday's U.S. employment report.
Fed rate hike expectations and rising oil prices weigh on risk sentiment.
Data released on Friday showed that U.S. employers added 162,000 jobs in August—nearly triple economists' expectations—while the unemployment rate remained at 4.1%.
The report caused markets to price in a roughly 60% probability of a Fed rate hike at the September 15–16 meeting, up from 49% prior to the data release, according to CME FedWatch.
Higher interest rates generally put pressure on Bitcoin and other speculative assets by increasing the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding investments and tightening financial conditions.
Oil prices added another source of uncertainty. Brent crude rose to around $97 per barrel on Monday as military tensions between the U.S. and Iran sparked fears of supply disruptions in the Middle East. The US military stated that it struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday after Iranian forces attacked US Navy ships with ballistic missiles.
Investors are now turning to US inflation data for further clues regarding the Federal Reserve's policy path: producer price data is expected on Thursday, followed by consumer price data on Friday. Higher inflation figures could reinforce expectations for a tightening of monetary policy.
Despite a recent pullback, institutional demand has provided some support. US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows of approximately $1 billion last week, according to data from SoSoValue.
Bitcoin network hit by $320 million exploit
The Liquid Network—a Bitcoin-linked settlement platform used by cryptocurrency exchanges—halted new transactions after roughly $320 million worth of Bitcoin was withdrawn from its federated wallet in a security exploit, sparking fresh concerns about digital asset infrastructure.
About 4,000 of the approximately 4,200 Bitcoin held in the wallet were stolen, Liquid Network announced in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The withdrawals were executed via SideSwap, a settlement platform authorized to facilitate transactions on the network.
The network stated that the parties responsible identified themselves as "alleged white-hat hackers," though their identities and intentions remained unclear.
Exchanges also suspended deposits and withdrawals related to Liquid's LBTC token—which is pegged to Bitcoin—while the incident is under investigation. Cryptocurrency prices today: altcoins retreat
Most altcoins declined on Monday amid a cautious market sentiment and a limited trading range.