Fed Rate Hike Bets Surge as Bitcoin Fights Resistance

Bitcoin's price continues to face stiff resistance as it heads into September. Markets have shifted their expectations, now seeing a 60% chance of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike in September.

The Fed is already under scrutiny after last week's Jackson Hole economic symposium, where new chair Kevin Warsh remained tight-lipped on policy cues. He described current inflation data as too high, despite lower-than-expected results for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index in July.

Markets responded with increased expectations of interest-rate hikes, with odds at just below 60% for a 0.25% hike at the Fed's September meeting, up from 41.4% last week. However, labor-market numbers could temper these expectations, particularly with Friday's release of August nonfarm payrolls data.