Bitcoin dropped below $80,000 during Tuesday’s Wall Street open after briefly touching 14-week highs of $81,265, as both crypto and gold retreated while US stocks posted modest gains.
Sell pressure holds at $80,000
BTC/USD fell as low as $78,111 on Bitstamp, with the $80,000 zone proving difficult to flip into support.
Traders had previously flagged this level as an area of strong sell pressure.
Gold also pulled back sharply, with XAU/USD hitting local lows of $4,605 per ounce — down nearly 2% on the day after reaching its highest levels since mid-May at $4,697.
US stocks moved inversely to gold and crypto, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite posting daily gains of 0.2% and 0.5%, respectively.
The comparative strength largely brushed off a brewing trade-tariff dispute between the US and Canada.
Bond yields and the fed’s dilemma
US 30-year bond yields continued falling, dropping below 5.2% and eyeing their lowest since Aug. 7.
Last week’s crypto surge came as yields hit levels not seen since January 2007, prompting the US Treasury to announce larger debt buyback operations.
Trading resource The Kobeissi Letter argued that rate cuts remain off the table in the current inflation environment:
“The reality is that the Fed cannot cut rates in this environment and the Trump Administration knows this. So, direct bond market intervention is the only solution to drive interest rates and yields lower over the short-run.”
Market consensus shows a 61.9% probability that the Fed will hold rates steady at September’s FOMC meeting, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.
PCE data and Nvidia earnings ahead
Wednesday brings two major catalysts: the July Personal Consumption Expenditures index — the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, which posted its first month-on-month decrease since 2020 in June — and Nvidia earnings.
Both events could inject fresh volatility into risk assets, with bitcoin’s price hovering near key resistance after a week of gains that saw over $220 million in short liquidations.
