Bitcoin and Ethereum Rise Following Soft US Inflation Data
US inflation data for the 12 months through November shows the Consumer Price Index (CPI) at 2.7% year-over-year and core inflation at 2.6% year-over-year, with the October data delayed by the government shutdown.
Following the release of the CPI figures, Bitcoin briefly rose to about $89,000 and Ethereum to about $2,980; after the opening bell, Bitcoin was around $88,399 and Ethereum around $2,957.
Over the past week, Bitcoin is down 1.6% and Ethereum down 6.8%, though both cryptocurrencies are up more than 1% on the day of the report.
The softer inflation print keeps Federal Reserve rate-cut expectations alive for 2026. The CME FedWatch tool shows a 26% chance of a 25 basis point cut at the next meeting, which is an increase of 2 percentage points after the CPI release.
Analyst Zach Pandl from Grayscale stated that lower rates could boost demand for risk assets. Additionally, bipartisan progress on a market-structure bill for digital assets could help Ethereum in the coming quarter.
Pandl also highlighted that tax-related selling may weigh on December price action, as markets move into the year-end period.
Former President Trump has expressed openness to nominating Democrats to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). However, Senate Democrats suggest that the odds of passage for the market-structure bill are low without guarantees regarding Democrats' involvement in agency rulemaking.
Late-year trading has been described as sensitive to technical factors, which may delay the full price reflection of positive fundamentals until the turn of the year.
