Bitcoin, currently trading at $77,253.98, has dropped 3% in morning Asian trading, hovering around $77,000 as the market prepares for a week filled with significant macroeconomic events. This move seems driven by caution rather than a change in market sentiment. According to Singapore-based market maker Enflux, in a note to CoinDesk, traders are hesitant to push bitcoin prices higher ahead of the upcoming rate decision and subsequent data releases, including GDP, PCE inflation, and the Employment Cost Index, which will collectively shape expectations for potential rate cuts by the Fed in the second half of the year. The primary constraint currently is oil, with Brent crude remaining above $100, complicating inflation outlooks and raising the bar for a dovish signal from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Enflux notes that the market operates under two competing assumptions: that geopolitical tensions will eventually ease, but not quickly enough to influence near-term policy, effectively pricing out rate cuts for June and creating an ambiguous backdrop for risk assets. As a result, bitcoin has struggled to break above key technical levels, trading roughly 4% below its short-term holder cost basis near $80,700, a level often viewed as a proxy for marginal buyer conviction. A decisive move above this level would likely require a clear signal from the Fed that oil-driven inflation is temporary. Otherwise, Enflux expects bitcoin to trade tentatively into the data releases, with sharper moves more likely tied to macro prints than the Fed statement itself.
Beyond this week, a less visible force may shape bitcoin's next moves, as The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI has missed key revenue targets, raising questions about the pace of AI demand. Listed BTC mining companies have taken on significant debt and sold portions of their treasuries to pivot to hosting AI data centers, a venture believed to be more profitable than mining. A slowdown in this pivot could theoretically slow selling. When demand for compute is strong, miners have the incentive and financing to keep building, often leading to continued BTC sales to fund capex and service debt.
However, if OpenAI's miss signals that AI growth may not keep pace with expectations, the dynamic becomes more complex. A slowdown in AI expansion could ease miner-driven selling over time, removing a source of supply. The problem lies in timing: sell pressure on semiconductor and data stocks due to weaker tech and risk appetite would likely bring down the crypto market, while any relief from slower miner selling would come later.
This reinforces Enflux's broader point that the market is stuck between competing macro forces, and any slowdown in AI demand adds another layer of uncertainty without immediately resolving the key issues for price, keeping bitcoin trading in a narrow band as it waits for a clearer signal.