U.S. August core CPI rose more than expected month over month, and the market has begun pricing in multiple rate hikes. Bitcoin briefly spiked before giving back gains, while gold token prices remained above $4,350 per ounce.
The main thread over the past 24 hours has been inflation data and rate expectations. U.S. August core CPI rose 0.3% month over month, exceeding expectations. Although the annual rate of 2.4% was the slowest since early 2021, the monthly reading was enough to shift the market's focus from "when will rates be cut" to "whether rates still need to rise." U.S. Treasury yields hit a 22-year high, oil and diesel prices rose together, and energy's pass-through to inflation has again become a focus of discussion. The reaction in risk assets was quite contradictory: Bitcoin briefly surged to around $79,000 after the data release, then fell back to $77,229.39, still up 0.86% over 24 hours; U.S. stocks briefly turned higher before momentum faded. This "rise first, then retreat" pattern shows that the market did not interpret CPI as purely positive or negative, but is reassessing how the rate path affects valuations. For readers, the key is not the single-day move, but that rising real yields are simultaneously weighing on risk appetite for both gold and crypto assets, while institutional compliance and product development continue to advance at their own pace.
The crypto market shows a divergence of "moderate price recovery and continued fund outflows." Bitcoin was at $77,229.39, up 0.86% over 24 hours; Ethereum was at $2,515.01, up 3.15%; Solana was at $102.42, up 3.78%; BNB was at $726.71, up 2.54%; XRP was at $1.3559, up 1.6%. Major coins generally closed higher, but spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a three-day net outflow of $449 million, indicating the rebound came more from leverage and short covering than from new allocation funds. ZEC's earlier sharp swings were attributed to leveraged position liquidations, a reminder that volatility in small-cap coins can amplify overall market sentiment. On the regulatory front, the new version of the Clarity Act requires non-decentralized DeFi protocols to register with the CFTC, directly touching the compliance boundaries of platforms such as Hyperliquid; at the same time, Anchorage Digital opened institutional custody and staking for the fUSD stablecoin, UniCredit is seeking crypto trading infrastructure partners, and Bitcoin Suisse will relocate up to half of its Swiss positions, showing that traditional institutions are still advancing crypto business along both product and cost lines. In the short term, rate expectations remain the main variable weighing on valuations, and whether ETF outflows can stop is more worth tracking than single-day prices.
Gold token XAUT was at $4,351.43, up 0.84% over 24 hours, and PAXG was at $4,356.82, up 0.71%. Holding at highs even as U.S. Treasury yields rose to a 22-year high and oil prices face upside risk is itself a noteworthy signal. The previous selloff showed that real yields remain the dominant variable for gold prices—when rate expectations are revised higher, the cost of holding non-yielding assets rises; but renewed inflows into gold ETFs indicate that some investors believe demand for hedging against inflation and geopolitical risk is recovering. Energy is the most direct transmission channel at present: diesel prices rose above $6 per gallon, and if the Middle East conflict escalates further, oil prices could exceed $120 per barrel, which would simultaneously push up inflation expectations and safe-haven demand, creating two opposing forces for gold. In industrial metals, copper supply faces its first annual decline since 2017, and tariff uncertainty is testing the previous record rally. Changes in the copper-gold ratio can serve as an observation window for judging growth expectations.
This briefing is generated automatically from public sources for reference only and is not investment advice. Markets carry risk; make your own decisions.
