Bitcoin price remains pinned above $112,000 as traders brace for key U.S. inflation prints and reconsider bets on aggressive Federal Reserve easing. Fresh macro revisions and signs of tightening liquidity have kept risk assets on edge, while altcoins show renewed appetite as capital rotates into speculative tokens.
Market snapshot
BTC traded around $112k–$113k after dipping to roughly $110,800 during North American hours. Ether sits near $4,325. Spot BTC ETFs reported daily net inflows of about $23 million (cumulative ~$54.85 billion), while spot ETH ETFs saw roughly $44.2 million in daily flows (cumulative ~$12.69 billion). On the derivatives front, CME BTC options notional open interest hit a record $5.6 billion, even as futures activity remains subdued.
Why it matters
Two immediate drivers are shaping the market: incoming U.S. producer and consumer price index readings and a recent downward revision to payroll data. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics cut nearly 911,000 jobs from payroll estimates for the year ended March, prompting some to price in bigger Fed rate cuts. At the same time, rising balances in the Treasury General Account and reverse repo drawdowns are draining liquidity—an environment that could compress risk appetite if inflation prints surprise to the upside.
Options, positioning and token movers
Put options on BTC and ETH continue to trade at a premium to calls on Deribit, signaling persistent downside hedging. Annualized funding rates for most top tokens (aside from TRX and XLM) are hovering around or above 10%, reflecting a broadly bullish bias but not signs of extreme leverage. Real-world asset protocols have grown past $15 billion TVL, and staking provider Kiln announced it is exiting Ethereum validators after an exploit impacted SwissBorg. Separately, an entity captured roughly $200 million from the MYX airdrop—an example of outsized token distribution outcomes.
What to watch
Headline U.S. PPI and CPI prints in the next 24 hours, the Fed meeting on Sept. 17 and liquidity metrics (Treasury General Account, reverse repo) should guide near-term direction. Also monitor option skews and ETF flows for signs of shifting risk appetite.
Risk note: Markets remain sensitive to macro surprises and liquidity shifts. Traders should be aware that inflation shocks or renewed credit stress could trigger rapid downside moves; options markets currently reflect elevated demand for protection.
Source: CoinDesk. Read the original coverage for full details.