Bitcoin (BTC) circled $74,000 at Wednesday’s Wall Street open as stock markets rallied and US bond yields surged.
Key points:
- Bitcoin failed to follow US stocks higher as CoreWeave gained up to 21% after beating Q3 revenue estimates.
- The US 10-year bond yield hit a high of 5.02% on the back of higher-than-expected US CPI inflation.
- BTC traded in a narrow range between its 21-week and 50-week trend lines at $73,078 and $75,492, respectively.
Tech stocks rise while 10-year yield returns to 5%
Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD diverging from US equities as investors resumed buying the dip in tech stocks.
BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
The AI sector led the day’s early gains, with cloud-computing company CoreWeave jumping over 20% after reporting better-than-expected Q3 revenue and lifting its 2026 guidance.
CoreWeave stock one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Nvidia, which suffered on Monday and Tuesday amid ongoing controversy over CEO Jensen Huang, opened around 2.5% higher.
Nvidia stock one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Oil prices, meanwhile, gained on the day amid fading optimism over a diplomatic solution to the US-Iran war. As attacks on ships traversing the Strait of Hormuz continued, analysis pointed to several practical hurdles to restoring pre-conflict traffic levels, even if a deal is reached.
“Even in the event a deal is struck, an increase in flows through the waterway would still depend on mine clearance, insurance costs and whether or not shipowners would even be willing to take the risk,” LSEG Oil Research wrote in a note on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
US WTI crude oil was up 1.4% on the day at $87.70 per barrel after dropping to $84 on Tuesday, its lowest since late August. Brent crude gained 1.5% to $93.40.
CFDs on WTI crude oil one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Stocks rose even after Tuesday’s higher-than-expected Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation data pushed US bond yields sharply higher. The 10-year yield returned to 5% on Wednesday for the first time since Oct. 29, while the 30-year yield reached as high as 5.378%, a level last seen on Oct. 22.
US 10-year bond yield one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at One Point BFG Wealth Partners, said that bonds were pricing in a more hawkish approach to interest rates by the US Federal Reserve. Markets have priced in a 0.25% rate hike in December, with the odds of a 0.5% move now increasing.
“Inflation breakevens today are focused on the drop in oil prices while regular Treasuries today are reacting to a Fed that is definitely going to hike next month, as of now, with one another in January,” Boockvar told CNBC.
Related: Here’s what happened in crypto today
BTC price stays between two key trend lines
Bitcoin continued to trade in a narrow range between its 21-week and 50-week simple moving average at $73,078 and $75,492, respectively. Volatility cooled as traders awaited a new catalyst after the CPI report.
BTC/USD one-day chart with 21-week and 50-week SMAs. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Investor profitability suffered as Bitcoin lost support around $75,700, the aggregate cost basis of the short-term holder (STH) cohort – entities holding a given amount of BTC without selling for up to 155 days.
On Tuesday, STH wallets sent over 47,000 BTC to exchanges at an unrealized loss, potentially signaling an increase in panic selling if those coins were sold.
