Bitcoin Tumbles Below $80,000 as Warsh's Hawkish Comments Spark Rate Hike Bets

US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's hawkish comments at Jackson Hole led to a sharp rise in short-term Treasury yields, causing Bitcoin to fall below $80,000. The cryptocurrency slipped as much as 4% to $76,871 on Friday.

The decline came after a strong August advance that took the asset above $81,000. Traders sharply raised their bets on a rate hike, with the probability of a hike rising to 57%, from 30% before Warsh's speech in Wyoming.

Nischal Shetty, Founder of WazirX, noted that institutional demand remained strong, despite Friday's $201.81 million outflow from US spot Bitcoin ETFs, which had attracted approximately $2.8 billion over the previous nine sessions.