Bitcoin, currently trading at $77,346.33, has seen a 3% decline in morning trading in Asia, hovering around $77,000 as the market prepares for a week filled with significant macroeconomic events. This move appears to be driven by caution rather than a shift in market sentiment. According to Enflux, a Singapore-based market maker, traders are hesitant to drive bitcoin prices higher ahead of the upcoming rate decision and a series of data releases, including GDP, PCE inflation, and the Employment Cost Index.
These releases will shape expectations for when the Fed might begin cutting rates in the second half of the year. The primary constraint currently is oil, with Brent crude remaining above $100, complicating the inflation outlook and making it more challenging for the Fed to send a dovish signal. Enflux notes that the market is operating 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. In the absence of such a signal, Enflux expects bitcoin to trade cautiously into Thursday's data releases, with sharper moves more likely tied to macro prints than the Fed statement itself.
Beyond this week, the pace of AI demand may also shape bitcoin's next moves, as reported by The Wall Street Journal that OpenAI has missed key revenue targets. 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, in theory, slow selling, as miners have both the incentive and financing to keep building when demand for compute is strong, 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, potentially easing miner-driven selling over time and removing a source of supply. The issue is timing, as 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 ones that matter most for price, keeping bitcoin trading in the same narrow band, waiting for a clearer signal.