Live Bitcoin Update: BTC Trades Sideways After Weaker-Than-Expected PPI

Wednesday’s U.S. CPI data pointed to some cooling in headline inflation, but a deeper look suggests underlying price pressures remain fairly resilient.

September Fed Hike Bets Fade After Softer PPI

Expectations for a Federal Reserve rate increase next month have dropped sharply after Wednesday’s softer CPI reading was followed by weaker-than-expected producer inflation data.

CME FedWatch now shows traders pricing in roughly a 32% chance of a September rate hike, down from more than 75% a month ago.

Markets have not completely abandoned the prospect of tighter policy later in the year. The odds of at least one Fed rate increase before the end of 2026 remain near 70%.

Sharplink Plans $200M ETH Deployment Through Lido

Ethereum-focused treasury firm Sharplink (SBET) plans to allocate $200 million worth of ETH through Lido to increase the returns generated by its holdings.

The company will receive wstETH, representing ETH deposited into Lido and the staking rewards associated with it. Anchorage Digital will act as custodian for the assets.

The arrangement allows Sharplink to collect staking income while holding a liquid asset that can be used in decentralized finance applications, including as collateral. The latest allocation expands the company’s existing ETH staking and restaking strategy.

CEO Joseph Chalom said the initiative is intended to make Sharplink’s ETH reserves more productive. Lido estimates that approximately $16.5 billion worth of ETH is currently staked through its protocol, while around $10 billion in wstETH is being used as collateral.

July PPI Shows No Monthly Increase

U.S. producer prices were unchanged in July, coming in below the 0.2% monthly increase economists had expected. The result followed a 0.1% decline in June.

Annual PPI growth slowed to 4.7%, compared with the 4.9% forecast and June’s 5.5% increase.

Core PPI, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.2% during July, below the 0.3% estimate and down from June’s 0.4% rise.

On a year-over-year basis, core PPI increased 4.2%, matching expectations but easing from 4.7% in June.

Initial jobless claims also rose to 209,000 from 200,000 the previous week. Economists had expected claims to reach 202,000.

Bitcoin remained largely steady around $63,500 after the data was released.

$1.07M Options Trade Signals Near-Term BTC Bet

A trader has made a roughly $1.07 million wager that Bitcoin will move above $65,500 before Saturday.

Laevitas data shows the trader purchased call options covering 4,054 BTC with a $65,500 strike price and an August 15 expiration.

With Bitcoin trading between approximately $63,500 and $63,800, BTC would need to rise by around $1,700-$2,000 within two days for the options to finish in the money.

The transaction reflects a strong short-term bullish position on Bitcoin.

Markets Turn to PPI for the Next Fed Signal

July’s PPI report became another key market focus after Wednesday’s CPI reading broadly met expectations. The data also followed last week’s weaker U.S. employment report.

Together, the recent economic figures have strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve could leave rates unchanged. Market pricing had put the odds of a policy pause at about 63%, making the PPI release another important input for investors assessing the Fed’s next move.

Bullish Set to Release Second-Quarter Results

Bullish (BLSH), CoinDesk’s parent company, is due to announce its Q2 earnings later Thursday.

Analysts are forecasting revenue of approximately $88.44 million and earnings per share of $1.13. The company’s shares have fallen 41.35% over the past 90 days.

Bullish went public one year ago, but the stock remains around 80% below its record high. Shares closed Wednesday at $24.63 and were roughly 1% higher in premarket trading.

Smaller Crypto Assets Outperform Market Leaders

While Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and XRP continue to trade with little direction, several smaller cryptocurrencies have posted stronger gains.

OKB, MNT and VVV have each climbed more than 6% over the past 24 hours, placing them among the top performers within the 100 largest crypto assets.

The moves do not appear to indicate significant capital leaving the major cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin dominance remains close to 59%, roughly the same level seen since July.

Bitcoin dominance measures BTC’s percentage of the total crypto market capitalization.

Bitcoin Remains Choppy Despite Cooler Inflation

Macroeconomic writer Mike “Mish” Shedlock argues that underlying U.S. inflation may be stronger than the July CPI headline suggests.

The softer consumer inflation reading was partly supported by lower energy and gasoline prices. According to Shedlock, temporary declines in those categories can make overall inflation appear weaker while other costs remain elevated.

He also pointed to the way official data measures certain food and housing expenses, including property taxes, insurance and home prices.

This may help explain why the softer CPI reading did not significantly weaken the U.S. Dollar Index, limiting any potential boost for Bitcoin.

BTC continues to trade unevenly below the $64,000 level.