Bitcoin eyes $117k as PPI data boost chances of a rate cut

Key takeaways

  • BTC has reclaimed the $114k mark and is now targeting the $117k resistance level.
  • The core Producer Price Index (PPI) dropped 0.1% month-over-month, increasing the chances of a Fed rate cut next week. 

Bitcoin reclaims $114k

The cryptocurrency market has continued its excellent start to the week, with BTC and other leading cryptos currently in the green. Bitcoin reclaimed the $114k mark on Wednesday after adding 3% to its value over the past few days.

The positive performance comes following the PPI data release on Wednesday. The core Producer Price Index (PPI), which excludes food and energy, declined 0.1% month-over-month, which is lower than the 0.3% increase analysts expected. Annual core inflation eased to 2.8% from July’s revised 3.4%. 

The decline in inflation could pave the way for the Fed to cut interest rates next week. The CPI data will be published on Tuesday, and this could strengthen the Fed’s resolve. 

In an email to Coinjournal, XBTO’s Chief Investment Officer, Javier Rodriguez-Alarcón, stated that a Fed rate cut could spark Bitcoin’s next breakout. The analyst added that,

Macro conditions are also supportive: investors are widely expecting the Federal Reserve to begin cutting rates this month, which has lifted confidence across risk assets and reinforced Bitcoin’s role as a hedge. 

At the same time, the SEC has unveiled a more crypto-friendly rulemaking agenda, and Cboe is preparing to launch new long-dated Bitcoin and Ethereum futures, showing how policy and market infrastructure are moving in tandem.

BTC targets $117k resistance level

The BTC/USD 4-hour chart is bullish and efficient as Bitcoin has been performing well over the past few days. The momentum indicators are also bullish, suggesting that BTC could be preparing for another breakout.

BTC/USD 4H Chart

The RSI of 62 shows that buyers are in charge, with the MACD lines also within the bullish region. If the rally continues, BTC could surge past the first major resistance level at $117,424 in the coming hours or days. An extended bullish run would allow BTC to reclaim the $119k level.

However, the market might undergo a correction heading into the weekend. If that happens, BTC could retest the TLQ and support level at $110k in the near term.

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Native Markets takes an early lead in the vote for Hyperliquid’s USDH stablecoin

  • A high-stakes vote is underway to choose Hyperliquid’s native stablecoin.
  • The Stripe-aligned Native Markets has taken an early but slim lead.
  • The winner will control a 5.5 billion dollar prize and a key DeFi rail.

The opening shots have been fired in a high-stakes and hotly contested battle for the financial soul of one of crypto’s fastest-growing exchanges.

The race to mint Hyperliquid’s native stablecoin, USDH, is underway, and in the early innings, the formidable, Stripe-aligned Native Markets team has seized a tenuous lead.

But with the majority of voting power still on the sidelines, the ultimate prize remains very much up for grabs.

As of Thursday morning in Hong Kong, Native Markets has secured 30.8 percent of the delegated stake, a lead built on the back of heavyweight validators like infinitefield.xyz and Alphaticks.

Its closest rivals, the New York-regulated Paxos Labs and the innovative Ethena, are trailing at 7.6 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively. Other contenders, despite splashy proposals, have yet to gain significant traction.

The undecided whales and the path to victory

But this is not a race that will be won in the early stages. The bigger and more decisive picture is that more than half of the total stake—a commanding 57 percent—remains unassigned.

This silent majority includes some of the most powerful and influential validators on the Hyperliquid network, including the single largest, Nansen x HypurrCollective, which alone controls over 18 percent of the vote, and the institutional giant, Galaxy Digital.

The final outcome will be decided by where these titans ultimately land.

Their votes will determine whether Native Markets’ early momentum is a decisive opening salvo or merely a fleeting lead in a long and unpredictable war. The deadline for this crucial decision is September 14.

A prize beyond measure

The stakes of this contest cannot be overstated. This is far more than a simple token launch; it is a battle to wire a new stablecoin directly into the financial backbone of a DeFi powerhouse.

Hyperliquid currently holds a staggering 5.5 billion dollars in USDC deposits, a sum that represents roughly 7.5 percent of that stablecoin’s entire circulating supply.

Replacing that with USDH would be a monumental shift, redirecting hundreds of millions of dollars in annual Treasury yield to the winning protocol.

The contenders have come to the table with lavish promises to woo the validators. Paxos has pledged 95 percent of its earnings to buy back Hyperliquid’s native HYPE token.

Frax has promised 100 percent of its yield directly to users. Agora has offered 100 percent of its net yield alongside institutional-grade custodianship.

With Hyperliquid already commanding nearly 80 percent of the decentralized perpetuals trading market, the winner of this contest will not just be minting a stablecoin; they will be forging a new, foundational rail for the future of decentralized finance.

Market updates

  • BTC: Bitcoin is trading at 114,053 dollars, up 2.6 percent in the past 24 hours. The move reflects a short-term rebound fueled by positive risk sentiment, even as a longer-term consolidation continues.

  • ETH: Ethereum is trading at 4,373.99 dollars, up 2 percent, as investors shrug off a recent mass-slashing event that penalized over 30 validators, a sign of the network’s underlying resilience.

  • Gold: Gold is holding near 3,635 dollars an ounce after hitting a peak of 3,674 dollars on Tuesday. Investors are awaiting U.S. inflation data, while the investment bank ANZ has raised its year-end gold target to 3,800 dollars, seeing a potential peak near 4,000 dollars by next June.

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