Bitcoin Slides Back Towards $26K as Surging Interest Rates Trigger Macro Jitters

The price of bitcoin (BTC) appeared set to retake the $27,000 level early Wednesday, but the rally was turned back alongside a renewed slide in the U.S. stock market.

In mid-afternoon action, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were each lower by about 0.6% – by themselves, not large declines, but both indexes are now lower by about 10% since the start of August.

Bitcoin is flat over the past 24 hours just shy of $26,200, but earlier in the day had risen above $26,800. The CoinDesk Market Index (CMI) is higher by 0.15%.

The declines came as the 10-year Treasury yield surged another nine basis points to a fresh 16-year high of 4.63%. Alongside the rise in interest rates, the price of oil was ahead by more than 3.5% to a new 2023 high of $93.53 per barrel. The term “stagflation” – suggesting a combination of slow growth and fast inflation in the economy – hasn’t been seen a lot since the 1970s, but quickly rising rates and oil prices are likely to spark an increase in usage.

To wit, a Wall Street Journal survey showed 41% of U.S. chief financial officers (CFOs) as trimming capital spending plans and 42% cutting back on operational costs in response to higher rates. A previous survey conducted in the fourth quarter of 2022 showed just 30% as planning on cutting capital spending and 27% looking to trim operational costs.