Bitcoin Fell 1.3% as Waller Backed December Fed Rate Hike

Bitcoin (BTC) fell 1.3% to $74,080 Tuesday as Fed governor Christopher Waller backed a December rate hike, lifting market-implied odds to 96.3% while U.S. stock futures also fell.

Waller said he would support a 0.25-percentage-point increase at the Federal Open Market Committee’s Dec. 9 meeting even if October inflation improved from September. He added that inflation substantially higher than expected could call for a stronger response.

The implied chance of a quarter-point increase stood at 76.3% before Waller’s speech. Nasdaq-100 futures were down 0.4% before U.S. trading opened Tuesday. Ahead of Tuesday’s scheduled October CPI release, the monthly increase was expected at 0.3%, compared with September’s 0.6% rise.

Waller also cited September’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation measure, which rose 0.5% from a month earlier and 3.7% over 12 months. The Fed targets PCE inflation. The next rate decision is scheduled for Dec. 9.

Rate increases can weigh on crypto and other risk assets by tightening financial conditions and reducing liquidity.