Crypto and stocks pull back ahead of US inflation numbers later today
Bitcoin (BTC) pulled back yesterday from $122,000 to trade around $119,000 this morning. It’s the second time since 14 July that the market-cap leader has hit a price ceiling around this level, a so-called double top in technical analysis, generally considered a short-term bearish chart pattern. Ethereum (ETH) remains in the green but has pumped the brakes slightly, trading around $4,300 this morning.
Spot ETH ETFs saw their biggest net inflow day ever on Monday as the original smart contracts crypto continues to show strong long-term momentum: it’s now up more than 18% over the past 7 days, and more than 45% over the past 30 days.
The broader crypto market is seeing declines, though, some steeper than others, especially among smaller caps.
As for stock markets, US stocks are marginally in the red this morning, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both down.
Today’s US CPI report is a big one to watch for equity and crypto investors, with economists forecasting a 0.2% month-over-month increase and a 2.8% annual increase for July, according to Dow Jones estimates. There’s also drama involving President Donald Trump and another US financial institution, this time with the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Trump removed BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer without naming a clear replacement, after data showed a surprise weakening in the US jobs market last month. Reuters reports that further politicisation of these independent data “could exacerbate concerns about CPI data collection.” Against this backdrop, the Fed will meet on 20–21 August to decide the way forward on interest rates, which could set the tone for the September meeting, where a rate cut is widely expected – generally considered a positive development for crypto and stock markets.
In the markets…
🌍 Total crypto market cap ↘️
The global crypto market cap is approximately $3.97 trillion, down 1.77% over the past 24 hours.
🟠 Bitcoin (BTC) ↘️
Price: $119,143 down 2.18% in the last 24 h
Daily high: $121,687
Daily low: $118,364
📈 S&P 500 ↘️
SPY is currently down about 0.25% since yesterday’s close.
📈 Nasdaq Composite ↘️
The Nasdaq Composite index is down about 0.3% overnight.
🥳 Fear & Greed Index
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index stands at 60/100, in Greed.
📊 Bitcoin Relative Strength Index (RSI) (14)
The 14-day RSI for BTC is approximately 44, in neutral territory.
Data is correct as at 12 August, 08:35 GMT.
Cautionary Notes
It's definitely tempting to get swept up in the excitement, but please heed these words of caution: Do your own research, only invest what you can afford, and make good decisions. The indicators contained in this article will hopefully help in this. Remember though, the content of this article is for information purposes only and is not investment advice or any form of recommendation or invitation. The Digital Commonwealth always advises you to obtain your own independent financial advice before investing or trading in cryptocurrency.
