Bitcoin Dips Ahead of U.S. Inflation Data as Fed Rate Hike Bets Grow

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller is supporting another interest-rate increase in December even if inflation shows signs of cooling. Meanwhile, declining oil prices are providing some relief to financial markets, while Anthropic has withdrawn preliminary pricing information for its planned IPO.

Bitcoin declined on Tuesday, dropping 1.4% since midnight UTC to trade around $74,200 as investors increased expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike ahead of the latest U.S. inflation report. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), which measures the performance of leading cryptocurrencies, fell 1.2% since midnight and remained relatively unchanged over the previous 24 hours.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller reinforced expectations of tighter monetary policy, stating that he supported raising interest rates even if inflation had eased in the previous month. He also suggested that a stronger-than-expected inflation reading could justify a 50-basis-point increase.

According to the CME FedWatch Tool, traders are currently anticipating a 25-basis-point rate increase at the December 9 meeting. Such a move would push the Federal Reserve’s target interest-rate range to 4.00%-4.25%.

Economists expect the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to report a 0.3% monthly increase in headline inflation for October. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, is projected to rise 0.2%.

However, annual inflation comparisons will not be available because the government shutdown in October 2025 disrupted price collection, leaving no comparable figures for the period. In September, annual headline and core inflation stood at 3.7% and 2.6%, respectively.

Declining oil prices provided a degree of relief to financial markets, with crude benchmarks losing approximately 2% over the previous 24 hours. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded near $84 per barrel, marking its lowest level since late August. Meanwhile, Brent crude hovered around $90 after U.S. President Donald Trump indicated a pause in additional strikes against Iran.

Gold also faced selling pressure, falling slightly more than 1% to below $4,100 per ounce. Nasdaq 100 futures retreated following Monday’s rally, while the U.S. Dollar Index maintained its strength below the 102 level.

Elsewhere, Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI chatbot, withdrew preliminary IPO pricing information that had been shared with investment bankers, Reuters reported. The details reportedly outlined a potential offering of approximately 867 million shares priced between $70 and $80 each, which could have generated up to $69.3 billion.

Anthropic said the circulated pricing information was inaccurate and confirmed that it would provide an updated filing. However, the company did not explain which specific details were incorrect, leaving the proposed offering structure and fundraising expectations uncertain.