Bitcoin's $65K Break Fails as Strong Spending Deters Rate Cut Bets

Bitcoin's brief move above $65,000 on Thursday was short-lived as investors failed to translate the US GDP miss into a bullish catalyst. The largest cryptocurrency traded near $64,729 as of press time after reaching an intraday high of $65,071 and recovering from a low of $63,205.

The data showed the US economy expanded at a 1.5% annualized rate in the second quarter, below both the first quarter's 2.1% pace and analysts' forecast of 2.1% growth. However, strong consumer spending and persistent inflation offered little evidence that lower interest rates were approaching.

Joseph Brusuelas, principal and chief economist at RSM US, said the widening trade deficit subtracted about one percentage point from headline growth, making the 1.5% reading a misleading measure of the economy's underlying momentum.