Out of a fixed maximum supply of 21 million coins, more than 95% of all bitcoin that will ever exist is now in circulation.
Bitcoin has continued to trade defensively near the mid-$60,000s as traders balance rising Iran-related war risk and interest-rate pressures.
Bitcoin has lost nearly 30% of its value since January. Yet Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is making the case that it remains one of the most powerful tools ordinary people have to fight rising prices. That gap between the pitch and the reality is hard to ignore. Related Reading: Bullish Signal? Coinbase Bitcoin Premium Turns Positive After Months In Red Armstrong laid out his argument in a post on X, and later repeated it at the World Liberty Forum, an event hosted by the family of US President Donald Trump. The logic is straightforward: inflation quietly destroys the purchasing power of cash. Wealthier people protect themselves by moving money into stocks, real estate, and Bitcoin. People without access to those same options get hit hardest and have no way out. Inflation is a regressive tax on the poorest people in society, since they only hold cash. Once people have wealth, they can afford and get access to inflation-resistant asset classes (stocks, bitcoin, real estate, etc). Expanding financial access and opportunities globally to… — Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) February 23, 2026 A Fair Point, Pushed Too Far? It is a legitimate observation. Economists have made similar arguments for years — that inflation acts like a hidden tax on those with the least. Armstrong is not wrong about the problem. The prescription, though, is harder to defend. Bitcoin does not move like a slow, grinding inflation rate. It can drop 20% in a single week. For someone with no financial cushion, that is not protection. That is exposure to a different kind of loss — one that can happen far faster than any inflation rate ever could. The volatility is not a minor detail. It is the central flaw in the argument. The Law That Could Shift Things The more grounded part of Armstrong’s message involves legislation. The CLARITY Act, currently being debated in Congress, aims to define how digital assets are regulated in the US — which agencies hold authority and under what conditions. US Senator Bernie Moreno said lawmakers are pushing to pass the bill by April. Armstrong, speaking at the forum, called a balanced version of the bill a potential win for crypto firms, banks, and consumers alike. Talks have focused on stablecoins and whether they can offer competitive yields without running into existing banking rules. Related Reading: Crypto Funds Bleed $4 Billion As Investors Step Back – Here’s Why Keeping Pace With China Armstrong also raised the stakes internationally. China is advancing a government-backed digital currency that pays interest. His message to US regulators was direct: fall behind on stablecoin policy, and America loses ground in a competition it should be leading. It is a real concern — even if his inflation argument leaves something to be desired. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from TradingView
Bitcoin is trading like a rates product now because real yields are the new “gravity” Earlier this month, we saw the macro picture shift in a very real and tangible way. The record of last year's job level changed significantly, and markets treated that update as fresh information to trade on. Two days later, inflation […]
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Bitcoin trades near $69,000 despite growing whale accumulation as crypto searches for a catalyst amid outflows and fragile market structure.
Despite the price recovery, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index remains in “extreme fear,” indicating underlying market anxiety.
Analysts point to tight liquidity and a broad risk pullback as BTC fell toward $81,000 and U.S. crypto ETFs saw over $1 billion in outflows.
Inflation in the United States could climb above 4% this year, according to a new analysis by Adam Posen of the Peterson Institute and Peter R. Orszag of Lazard.
The U.S. Consumer Price Index came in roughly in line with expectations as market participants largely expects the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged at the January meeting.
Bitcoin has a talent for looking calm right up until it isn’t. In the first trading days of 2026, the tape has had that familiar, coiled feel: enough headline noise to keep traders alert, not enough conviction to force a real move. When crypto behaves like that, the next decisive push often doesn’t come from […]
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Bitcoin rose above $88,000 on the pleasing news as forecasts had been for inflation to continue to run above 3%.
U.S. inflation data for November, expected to show a 3.1% increase in CPI, could influence Federal Reserve interest rate decisions.
Powell’s decisions as Fed chair have continued to have a massive impact on bitcoin and the wider cryptocurrency markets.
Gold, traditionally seen as an inflation hedge, also shows inconsistent and often negative correlations with inflation, the data shows.
Bitcoin rose above $110,000 after softer U.S. CPI at 3.0%, while analysts say easing hopes clear policy risk, though options exposure leaves rallies fragile.
According to MEXC’s H1 2025 user survey, nearly half of users now say they turned to crypto to protect against rising prices, and many others are chasing steady returns. Related Reading: Bitcoin Is ‘Digital Capital’ That Outpaces Traditional Assets—Michael Saylor The shift is sharp: 46% of global respondents named inflation protection as their main reason to enter the market, up from nearly 30% in Q1. Inflation Protection On The Rise That move toward defense is strongest in East Asia and the Middle East. In East Asia the share saying they use crypto to hedge inflation jumped to 52%. In the Middle East the figure climbed from 27% to 45%. At the same time, the survey shows fewer very large accounts in East Asia: wallets holding over $20,000 slipped from 39% to 33%. Mid-range holdings, in the $5k–$20k range, are increasing. Those trends indicate some profit-taking as well as regulatory conservatism, whereas more run-of-the-mill investors invested smaller amounts. Latin America Presents A Different Push Reports have revealed a clear trend in Latin America, where the pursuit of income is high. Memecoin ownership grew from 27% to 34% — the largest regional increase — and 63% of new users indicated passive income as their primary reason to join crypto. That points to social and community-driven activity, where token drops, staking, and yield products can draw people in as much as price moves do. Trading And Income Motives Differ By Region South Asia stands out for trading. Spot trading made up 52% of user activity there, and 53% of South Asian users cited financial independence as their goal. Across regions, public chain tokens remain the most held assets: over 65% of users worldwide include them in portfolios. That rises to 74% in Latin America and 70% in Southeast Asia. Stablecoin use held steady at 50%, showing many users want a buffer between volatile bets and cash-like options. Related Reading: Ripple CTO Drops Bombshell: XRP At The Core Of Trillions In Banking Future Products And Forecasts For Q3 Based on the survey, MEXC expects more people to come in for wealth protection in the next quarter, along with a rise in structured trading approaches and broader diversification. Tracy Jin, MEXC’s COO, said the company plans to tailor offerings to where demand is strongest, while aiming to keep its platform trusted across markets. Short-lived hype around memecoins and AI tokens is likely, but core public chain holdings are expected to keep their grip on portfolios. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
CPI surprises to the upside while cracks widen in U.S. labor market; bitcoin climbs as the dollar weakens and bond yields fall.
Initial jobless claims surged to 263,000 last week — the highest in 4 years — signaling weakening growth and bringing stagflation fears to the forefront.
The headline news is sending markets, bitcoin included, lower, but isn't likely to derail the Fed from trimming interest rates next week.
Traders boosted bets that the Fed would cut rates by 50 basis points next week, but bitcoin bulls have plenty of reason for caution.
The U.S. jobs report revealed only 22,000 job additions in August, far below expectations, increasing the likelihood of a Fed rate cut. Still, BTC remains below $112K.
CoinShares says crypto investment products saw $1.4 billion of net outflows last week, the biggest since March, with BTC and ETH funds leading redemptions.
Powell’s Jackson Hole speech showed how the Fed is weighing inflation against jobs. That balance could shape policy in the fourth quarter of 2025 and beyond.
Inflation at wholesale level in the U.S. in July sped up far beyond economist forecasts, calling into question expectations for lower interest rates.
The data was mixed, but nevertheless isn't likely to lessen the case for a September Fed rate cut.
A higher-than-expected CPI could dampen Fed rate cut bets and weigh on risk assets, including bitcoin.
Tuesday's CPI inflation data, followed by PPI report later this week, could make or break bitcoin's momentum, Bitfinex analysts said.
U.S. inflation data, expected to show a rise in core CPI, may affect market volatility but is unlikely to prevent a Fed rate cut.
Institutional flows remained strong. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs logged their ninth consecutive day of net inflows, with $403 million added on Tuesday.
On a steep slide from record highs near $124,000 just over 24 hours ago, bitcoin rose modestly to $117,300 in the minutes following the news.