Bitcoin Price Trades Down Near $73,500 After Hot CPI Print Lifts Fed Hike Bets

Bitcoin price slipped to $73,500 Tuesday morning after October consumer prices rose 0.4%, topping forecasts and pushing traders toward a bigger Federal Reserve rate hike in December.

Bitcoin price traded near $73,500 on Tuesday morning, down about 1% over the past day and roughly $32,000 below its price one year ago, after a hotter-than-expected inflation report revived fears of a larger Federal Reserve rate hike, according to Bitcoin Magazine Pro data.

The U.S. consumer price index rose 0.4% in October, above the 0.3% economists expected. Core CPI, which strips out food and energy, climbed 0.3% against forecasts for 0.2%.

Bitcoin price had been holding near $74,300 in the minutes before the 8:30 a.m. ET release. It dropped to about $73,400 right after the print, briefly undercutting Monday’s overnight low of $73,477 , before steadying in the high-$73,000s.

JUST IN: U.S. CPI inflation comes in at 0.4% MoM, higher than expectations Bitcoin falls below $74,000 on the news. pic.twitter.com/Zxq3LtVwAd

Food prices jumped 0.5% on the month, energy rose 0.7% and gasoline gained 1.0%. Housing costs increased 0.3%.

The report will not carry an annual inflation rate. The government shutdown in October 2025 kept the Bureau of Labor Statistics from collecting a full set of prices, so there is no comparable figure. Bank of America estimated before the release that the annual rates were running near 3.8% for headline and 2.7% for core.

Bond traders moved first. Two- to five-year Treasury yields rose at least 10 basis points on the day after the print, and traders boosted bets on a half-point hike when the Fed meets on Dec. 9.

That was the scenario Fed Governor Christopher Waller laid out hours earlier. He said he is “leaning toward” a December increase and would back “more robust action” if inflation ran hotter than expected.