Well, folks, the Federal Reserve’s favorite inflation yardstick, the core PCE price index, just strutted onto the stage hotter than a jalapeño in July. February’s numbers came in at a 0.4% rise, the biggest monthly jump since January 2024, and the 12-month inflation rate hit 2.8%. Now, that’s not just a little hiccup—it’s a full-blown economic burp. Economists, bless their hearts, were expecting 0.3% and 2.7%, but the Fed’s numbers laughed in their faces like a mischievous schoolboy.
This PCE index, you see, is the Fed’s crystal ball for inflation (or deflation, if you’re feeling optimistic). It tracks what folks are spending their hard-earned cash on and how their habits change. And let me tell you, when this index sneezes, the Fed catches a cold. High PCE numbers mean inflation’s on the rise, and that usually leads to rate hikes to cool things down. But here’s the kicker: when the Fed tightens the screws, risk-on assets like Bitcoin start sweating bullets.
Speaking of Bitcoin, it’s been having a rough go of it lately, along with its crypto cousins XRP and Dogecoin. At press time, they were all trading in the red, looking more like a trio of sad clowns than the digital gold they’re often touted as. The crypto market’s downturn is tied to fears that the Fed might keep interest rates high for longer than a politician’s campaign speech, which could dry up liquidity and make investors as skittish as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs.
After slashing rates by a full percentage point in 2024, the Fed’s been sitting on its hands this year, muttering something about “economic uncertainty.” Meanwhile, the crypto market’s been bleeding like a stuck pig, with Bitcoin down 3.05% in the last 24 hours to $84,357. Ethereum’s faring even worse, down 6.46% to $1,892, and XRP, Solana, and Dogecoin are all down around 7%. Chainlink and Avalanche? Down 9%. Cardano and Stellar? Down over 5%. It’s a regular bloodbath out there, folks.
And if that wasn’t enough, cryptocurrency derivatives traders have seen over $423 million in liquidations in the last 24 hours. That’s right—$423 million wiped out faster than a kid’s allowance at a candy store. Most of those losses, over $367 million, were from leveraged longs, or traders betting that prices would go up. Well, they bet wrong, and now they’re paying the price. It’s a harsh reminder that in the world of crypto, the house always wins—or at least, the Fed does.
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2025-03-28 18:29