Bitcoin gives back gains as 'hawkish' Fed costs bulls a trip to $70K

Bitcoin ( BTC ) retraced the prior day’s gains on June 13 as markets braced for the next round of United States inflation data.

Bitcoin fails to hold CPI upside as $70,000 fades

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC price trajectory reversing after the daily close after BTC/USD briefly touched $70,000.

The subsequent rout produced new lows of $66,983 on Bitstamp, with Bitcoin down around 1.3% on the day at the time of writing.

Excitement had built thanks to lower-than-expected readings from the Consumer Price Index (CPI), while the Federal Reserve’s meeting on interest rates kept policy predictably restrictive.

Chair Jerome Powell’s accompanying commentary, however, appeared to spook risk assets as he reiterated that interest rate cuts sooner rather than later were not yet being discussed.

“We think policy is restrictive. And we think, ultimately, that if you just set policy at a restrictive level, eventually you will see real weakening in the economy,” he told reporters during a press conference after the event, quoted by CNBC and others.

“So, that’s always been the thought is that, you know, since we raised rates this far, we’ve always been pointing to cuts at a certain point.”

Markets reduced bets of a cut at the Fed’s September meeting by around 10%, per data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool .

“Today's FOMC definitely more hawkish than anticipated,” financial commentator Tedtalksmacro reacted on X (formerly Twitter).

“However, the market had already priced for this scenario leaving the real takeaway from today to be that disinflation continues (via CPI data). That's pretty clear from how stocks have moved... Crypto will follow.”

Analysis: $69,000 is key to 'rangebound' BTC price

Analyzing BTC price dynamics, trading resource Material Indicators revealed the role of Bitcoin whales in the day’s price volatility.

Related: Bitcoin whale accumulation reaches pre-2020 bull run levels — Is BTC set to break $70K?

“Watching Bitcoin completely retrace the morning pump is more evidence that these Killer Whale Games are playing out precisely as I've been outlining in my analysis since Friday,” an X post argued.

Material Indicators referred to ongoing shifts in order book liquidity , luring price both up and down, using external factors such as U.S. macro data as a stage.

Zooming out, it continued, the picture remained the same — $69,000 was the key level to establish as support.

“Everything you need to know is in the charts,” the post concluded.

“IMO, what matters most is that we don't print a lower low, and that BTC eventually validates an R/S Flip at $69k. Until then, BTC will remain range bound.”

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.