Bitcoin Faces Crucial Test as Core PCE Looms Over Key Support

Bitcoin appears to have established a new support zone that could soon be tested by Thursday’s U.S. inflation data.

That level sits around $59,000, which has recently acted as a floor, limiting further downside moves.

In trading, a support level refers to a price area where a decline tends to stall or reverse, as buying interest becomes strong enough to absorb selling pressure. However, a level typically needs to hold multiple times before traders view it as reliable support.

On Wednesday, as selling intensified, bitcoin dropped close to $59,000 before rebounding to $61,000 overnight. At the time of writing, BTC is trading near $60,800, according to CoinDesk data. A similar pattern was seen earlier this month on June 5, when a decline found footing near $59,000 and was followed by a rally toward $67,000.

This repeated behavior has reinforced $59,000 as a critical level — effectively a new line in the sand that bulls must defend to prevent a deeper correction.

Attention is now shifting to the upcoming Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report, due Thursday at 8:30 ET. Headline PCE is expected to rise 4.1% year-over-year in May, marking the highest reading since April 2023, according to FactSet, and remaining well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

Core PCE, which excludes food and energy and is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, is projected to increase between 3.3% and 3.4%, the highest since October 2023.

A stronger-than-expected core reading would reinforce concerns that inflation is reaccelerating, rather than reflecting temporary disruptions such as earlier geopolitical tensions in energy markets. That outcome could strengthen expectations for further Fed rate hikes, support the already elevated U.S. dollar index — currently at its highest level since April 2025 — and weigh on risk assets like equities and cryptocurrencies.

In that scenario, traders may want to focus on $59,000, rather than $60,000, as the key support level.

Conversely, a softer-than-expected core PCE reading could ease rate-hike fears, temper the dollar’s strength, and give bitcoin bulls room to build on the recent rebound from $59,000.