Bitcoin hits $18,000 as US inflation data are released

Against the backdrop of inflation data published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), bitcoin prices rose 5% to reach $18,000.

As of writing, Bitcoin was trading around $17,800, with Ethereum above $1,300.

According to BLS data, inflation in the United States rose by 0.1% in November. In year-over-year terms, CPI reached 7.1% (7.7% in October) against a forecast of 7.3%.

The cryptocurrency market reacted positively to the BLS data. According to CoinGecko, total cryptocurrency market capitalization rose to its highest level since the collapse of FTX in early November, at about $913 billion.

The U.S. stock market also rose similarly. By the time of writing, the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.3%, the S&P 500 increased 1.8%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1%.

Earlier, former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes said that Bitcoin had bottomed, as almost all ‘irresponsible organisations’ had run out of BTC to sell.

Previously, Galaxy Digital founder Mike Novogratz reiterated his forecast for Bitcoin to reach the $500,000 mark.

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