Consumer Spending Price Index Inflation Shakes Markets: Nasdaq Rally Crashes, Bitcoin Drops to a New 2026 Low

BTCUSD
‪−2.43%‬
Bitcoin price
BTCUSD
fell to around $58,000 on Thursday, its lowest level since September 2024, after rising US inflation dampened hopes for a near-term Federal Reserve interest rate cut.

US stocks also fell in tandem, wiping out intraday gains for the Nasdaq 100. Both markets dropped after the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge rose faster than expected in May.

Hot Inflation Weakens Rate-Cut Hopes

The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index rose 4.1% in May from a year earlier, its highest reading since April 2023. The figure was up from 3.8% in April, according to a government report. The core PCE index, which excludes food and energy, rose 3.4%.

The numbers pointed to an economy that is proving resilient, not one that is slowing. Consumer spending rose 0.7% in May, beating expectations, while first-quarter GDP was revised up to 2.1% from 1.6%. Some economists now see room for potential rate hikes rather than cuts.

Under Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, the Federal Reserve kept the benchmark interest rate at 3.5% to 3.75% in June, and projected higher rates ahead. It linked part of the price pressure to energy supply shocks stemming from the conflict in the الشرق الأوسط. This stance weakened expectations of Fed rate cuts across markets, as traders had been expecting easing this year.

Bitcoin Price Slide Mirrors Nasdaq Reversal

Bitcoin had traded above $61,800 earlier in the session before its decline accelerated. Ownership of the token then changed hands at around $59,200, down about 2.6% over the day. That left it roughly 53% below its record high of $126,080 in October 2025.

The drop sparked a wave of forced selling. More than $450 million in distressed leveraged long positions were liquidated within about an hour.

Across the market, total crypto liquidations reached $1.26 billion among more than 209,000 traders over 24 hours, according to CoinGlass.

Crypto and tech stocks have tracked each other closely this year. The Nasdaq 100 had risen before prices reversed, reflecting a major tech selloff in June that also dragged Bitcoin lower. \

Higher prices raise the cost of holding risk, weighing on both.

Whether $58,000 sets the local bottom may depend on the next Federal Reserve meeting in late July. With inflation rising and growth holding steady, policymakers have little reason to cut. That leaves risk assets exposed to further volatility.