Bitcoin Slides Under $59K As Fed Rate Fears Return To Crypto

Bitcoin (BTC) fell toward $58,000 on Jun. 25 after U.S. inflation data revived concerns over tighter monetary policy.

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Bitcoin Drop

Bitcoin extended its decline Thursday after the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index rose 4.1% in May from a year earlier.

The reading was higher than the prior 3.8% figure and marked the strongest annual increase in three years, according to the report. Monthly headline PCE inflation rose 0.4%, while core PCE, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.3% for the month.

The data came in below Wall Street expectations of 4.2% annually and 0.5% monthly, but it still pressured crypto because inflation remained far above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

Bitcoin traded at $58,183.51 at press time, down 4.98% on the day, according to the figures cited in the report. TradingView data showed the sharp intraday decline, while CoinGlass reported $212.35 million in BTC long liquidations within one hour.

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Inflation Pressure

The report also pointed to steady demand in the U.S. economy. Real PCE spending rose $43.8 billion, or 0.3%, in May after adjusting for inflation.

Consumer spending increased by $156.1 billion, driven by a $94.3 billion gain in services and a $61.8 billion rise in goods purchases. Personal income rose $181.6 billion, or 0.7%, while per capita disposable income also climbed 0.7%.

Those figures matter for crypto because strong demand and persistent inflation can reduce the case for near-term rate cuts. If the Fed keeps policy tight or raises rates again, liquidity may contract across risk-sensitive markets, including Bitcoin and other digital assets.

The market reaction was broad. Total crypto liquidations reached $1.34 billion as traders cut leveraged positions after the inflation release.

Bitcoin’s latest slide fits into a wider period of pressure for the asset, with the token already weakening before the PCE report. The move showed how quickly macro data can turn a fragile decline into a forced liquidation event.

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