Bitcoin sinks below $77,000 for fourth straight session as inflation, oil and Fed fears mount

Reports coming in for today mention that Bitcoin declined sharply in the early session on September 11, extending its slide for the fourth straight session, with prices hovering just above $76,864 (08:23 IST), down 1.83 percent during the past 24 hours, and 4.77 percent over the week amid hotter US inflation data and rising Middle East tensions.

Rising crude prices additionally pressured broader risk assets. Attention now shifts to the Fed’s September rate decision the week ahead.

“The crypto market is seeing some earnings-taking, with total market cap down 1.33 percent to $2.62 trillion, ahead of today’s CPI inflation report. If the numbers come in elevated than anticipated, the The US central bank will likely raise interest rates the week ahead to cool down the economy. Elevated interest rates make safer investments like bonds more attractive, which usually hurts assets like crypto. That stated, if inflation turns out to be softer than anticipated, it could spark a quick relief surge," Nischal Shetty, founder of WazirX, stated.

Crypto market watchers estimate that BTC, around $76.9K, is still showing a short-term downward trend, with $76K as the immediate backing to watch and $78K as the key resistance. A sustained break below $75.5K could gain selling pressure, whereas a reclaim of $78K could trigger a short-term bullish setup.

According to Prateek Gupta, Head of Business at Mudrex, Bitcoin is extending its slide for a fourth straight session, testing the $76,000-$77,000 backing zone after hotter-than-anticipated August PPI data that lifted September 16 Fed rate-hike odds to around 70 percent. "Glassnode’s sell-side risk ratio is near record lows, with long-term holders’ share of realised earnings falling from 88 percent to 47 percent, suggesting new buyers are driving most of the selling."

In the meantime, spot ETF demand has softened. US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $730.8 million in net inflows on September 3. The inflows declined to $174.6 million on September 4. The trend then reversed, with net outflows of $46.6 million on September 8. Outflows widened to $120.2 million on September 9, according to Farside. Oil is another major risk. Brent was near $109, while the US 10-year Treasury yield approached 5 percent amid escalating Middle East tensions. Elevated energy prices could prolong inflation and keep financial conditions restrictive.

CoinDCX noted that the top gainers for the day are Bitway with an 11.7 percent jump, followed by Ether.fi by 8.7 percent and Aptos by 5.1 percent. On the other hand, Zcash tops the losers with a 13.9 percent plunge, followed by Pump.fun by 10.8 percent and Bitcoin Cash & Algorand by more than 9 percent each. The crypto fear and greed index has eased to 55 as the market sentiment has flipped to neutral.

Here's how major cryptocurrencies moved during the past 24 hours.

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Key factors market participants should watch

According to Riya Sehgal, a Research Market observer at Delta Exchange, Bitcoin’s near-term setup has softened after breaking below its recent consolidation structure. The dollar has started to recover, while gold has eased toward the $4,320–$4,350 region, suggesting the pressure is broader than crypto and is being fuelled by rates, inflation and dollar resilience.

Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus, suggests, "Market participants should stay measured. Bitcoin holding $75,700 keeps the recovery structure intact, but sustained ETF outflows and a hawkish Fed repricing could expose $71,800. A clean break above $82,800, preferably accompanied by renewed ETF inflows, would materially improve the bullish case."