Crypto lost altitude right as an AI-fueled selloff unsettled stocks, cutting into Bitcoin's comeback vibe. The top token sank up to 2.4% to $79,720, touching its lowest since Sept. 18, before recovering some ground as equities whipsawed. US shares opened in the red, and the Nasdaq 100 slid as much as 1.8% after indications that Anthropic's revenue growth is cooling stirred fresh doubts about the artificial-intelligence trade.
Investors shifted toward Treasuries, pushing yields down, yet a combination of producer-price data and better-than-expected retail sales barely altered the view that the Federal Reserve will leave rates higher for an extended period. According to Jeff Anderson, head of US at STS Digital, the inflation data will "really hurt risk appetite" as markets near the Fed's pre-meeting communications pause, leaving rate expectations "on a knife's edge."
Markets can turn on subtle shifts, so stay informed with the free Market Briefs that explains it all in minutes
Digital assets are being tugged between upbeat analyst sentiment and a wider risk-off tilt across speculative corners of the market. Some traders are reading the slide as a warning of a broader downtrend and pulling back on once-popular $100,000 targets. On Derive.xyz, the priced-in probability of Bitcoin getting to $100,000 by Christmas fell over the last 24 hours to 9.7% after a drop of 2.8 percentage points, according to founder Nick Forster. "This immediate pull-back from long-term upside bets alongside aggressive short-term hedging shows a dramatic regime shift, with institutional participants rapidly reassessing their macro risk exposure as the path for interest rates turns murky again," Forster said.
If you want quick, reliable context on market moves, sign up for the free Market Briefs newsletter today
