Interest rates, inflation, jobs and central-bank news — explained through the lens of Bitcoin.
Biggest story: Trump Executive Order Pushes Digital Assets Toward Fed Payment Access
Trump ordered regulators to review rules governing crypto and fintech access to Federal Reserve payment rails, with a 90-day clock ticking. Direct Fed access would dramatically legitimize Bitcoin as a settlement asset for banks.
Trump has directed federal agencies and the Federal Reserve to examine whether crypto firms should be allowed to connect to traditional payment rails. This is a double-edged move: it could open doors for Bitcoin businesses or create new compliance hurdles.
A Federal Reserve report found that roughly 1 in 10 Americans used crypto last year, the highest adoption rate since 2022. Over a quarter of crypto payment users said they chose it because merchants preferred it — a sign of genuine grassroots utility growing.
The latest US inflation report has put Bitcoin back under pressure, pulling it below $80K and cooling some of the excitement that followed the CLARITY Act vote. Higher-than-comfortable inflation keeps the Fed from cutting rates aggressively, which weighs on assets like Bitcoin.
The US Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as the new Federal Reserve Chair in a 54-45 vote, replacing Jerome Powell. Warsh is widely seen as more open to digital assets than his predecessor, and a friendlier Fed could mean a softer approach to crypto regulation going forward.
A fresh US inflation reading of 3.8% pushed Bitcoin below $80,000 earlier this week as hopes for near-term interest rate cuts faded. Bitcoin has since recovered to $81,449, but the inflation backdrop remains a drag on rate-cut expectations.
US inflation just printed its highest level since 2023, driven by oil price spikes tied to the US-Iran war, rattling Bitcoin. Higher inflation makes it less likely the Fed will cut rates, which tends to pull money away from assets like Bitcoin.
