Bitcoin cuts losses, remains muted amid rising oil and yields, hawkish Fed signals

Bitcoin experienced a brief respite on Thursday, trading flat amid mounting concerns over rising oil prices, soaring Treasury yields, and hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve. The world's largest cryptocurrency remained largely unchanged at $84,420.2 by 17:53 ET (21:53 GMT). Bitcoin's gains so far in September were welcomed by investors, who viewed them favorably amidst regulatory favor from the U.S. government.

The surge in Treasury yields saw the U.S. 10-year benchmark surpass 5%, its strongest level since 2007, as robust purchasing managers index data and hawkish comments from a Federal Reserve Governor further fueled expectations of additional rate hikes in the coming months. Japanese 10-year yields hit a 30-year high, while other developed economies witnessed similar upward trends in bond yields.

The surge in rates dampened the appeal of riskier investments like Bitcoin, as debt typically offers better returns in such environments. Concurrently, oil prices kept rising, spurred by dwindling hopes for diplomatic progress between the U.S. and Iran following a strongly-worded address by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at the United Nations General Assembly.

Broader cryptocurrency prices largely recovered their losses following Bitcoin's steady performance, with optimism over potential U.S. regulatory favor driving gains in altcoins. Ether and XRP also saw modest increases, while BNB, Solana, and Cardano continued their upward trajectories. Memecoins Dogecoin and $TRUMP also saw gains of 3.7% and 7.2%, respectively.