PANews reported on February 13 that Singapore crypto investment institution QCP Capital published an article today saying that in the market volatility after the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), bargain hunting became the winner in overnight trading. The overall CPI rose higher than expected, while the core CPI also rose. This change reversed market expectations, and now the market expects the Federal Reserve to postpone the first interest rate cut this year until December, triggering a sharp sell-off in the market.

Bitcoin plunged from $96,500 to $94,000, with $163 million of long positions liquidated. However, BTC held its ground at $94,000 and rebounded strongly to $98,000 during the New York trading session, a net gain of 4.4%. In the options market, call options continue to be favored, especially those with near-term expiration (Friday, February 14), which accounted for the majority of trading volume. In the past 24 hours, call options with strike prices between $97,000 and $100,000 were the most popular.

In the big picture, the market is probably waiting to see how Trump will react to the CPI increase. Will he continue to advocate that the Fed should cut rates further this year, or will he give the Fed room to decide policy based on data? Given that Trump’s legacy of wanting a soft economic landing is facing a test, we expect Fed Chairman Powell to remain cautious and maintain his data-dependent stance before cutting rates.