Bitcoin falls to a near three-month low as hot US inflation lifts Fed rate hike bets

Summary

Bitcoin dropped to $72,695 on November 10, 2026, its lowest point in roughly three months, after October US inflation data exceeded forecasts. Traders reacted by increasing their bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike in December. Bloomberg said the price fell as much as 3% that day, while other major tokens declined further.

What happened

At 8:30 a.m. Eastern time (13:30 UTC) on November 10, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its Consumer Price Index report for October. The consumer price index, or CPI, is the most closely watched inflation measure. It showed prices rising 0.4% in October compared with September, following a 0.6% increase in September.

CoinDesk said the headline reading of 0.4% exceeded the 0.3% expected by forecasters. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy because their prices fluctuate from month to month, increased 0.3%, compared with a forecast of 0.2%.

The same CoinDesk report said Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller supported raising rates in December. It also said he believed a stronger-than-expected inflation reading could warrant a bigger move of 50 basis points, or half a percentage point.

Two things followed in quick succession:

• Expectations of a rate increase rose among traders. Yahoo Finance said the CME FedWatch tool, which converts futures prices into probabilities, showed a 89% chance of a quarter-point increase at the December 9 meeting, up from around 70% a week before.
• Bitcoin declined. In an article published at 5:24 p.m. UTC, Bloomberg reported that it fell as much as 3% to $72,695, its lowest point in about three months.

Some of the best-known crypto accounts on X reacted the same day. Ash Crypto told its followers that Bitcoin had dropped below $73,000 for the first time in 12 weeks. Coin Bureau said that Bitcoin had fallen to its lowest price since August, erasing nearly three months of gains. These posts are reactions from commentators, and the figures in the official reports above are the ones this article relies on.

How this has influenced the Bitcoin price and market

During its coverage on November 10, CoinDesk reported Bitcoin below $73,000, its lowest level since August 20, and down 3% over the previous 24 hours. Yahoo Finance said Bitcoin was trading at around $73,660 that same day, a decline of 1.3% over 24 hours.

Bloomberg reported that Ether and XRP each fell more than 5% in the selloff, while Zcash declined about 14%. When traders reduce risk, smaller tokens often fluctuate more than Bitcoin.

A CoinGecko price snapshot at 07:09 UTC on November 11 put Bitcoin at $73,523, down 1.49% over 24 hours and 8.59% over seven days. Its trading volume over the previous 24 hours was $32,509,926,314.

The timing connects the decline with the inflation report and the resulting rate expectations, and Bloomberg said the inflation figures made risky assets such as cryptocurrencies less appealing. However, several factors can affect prices at once, so these reports cannot measure the impact of any one factor.

Implications for businesses

The reports cited here do not identify specific effects on exchanges, miners, payment firms or merchants. Businesses that hold bitcoin or accept it should assess how price fluctuations affect their accounts and cash requirements, as well as how frequently they convert payments into local currency.

Implications for individuals

Fidelity's Jurrien Timmer said Bitcoin's correlation with the S&P 500 stock index increased during the previous week's selloff. In an article published on November 11, Yahoo Finance said that a stronger correlation weakens Bitcoin's role as an asset that behaves differently from stocks in a portfolio. Correlation simply describes how two prices tend to move in the same direction at the same time.

For an everyday holder, the practical steps are straightforward. Review how much of your savings is in Bitcoin and whether you could manage another decline without needing to sell. Be cautious of anyone who reaches out offering to recover losses or promise returns, as our crypto scams guide explains. If you're new to holding crypto, the learn crypto guide explains the basics.

Conclusion

An inflation reading above expectations on November 10 increased expectations of a December Fed rate hike, and Bitcoin dropped to its lowest level in about three months. Attention is now on the Fed's December 9 meeting, where traders consider a quarter-point increase very likely.