Bitcoin is on track for a monthly gain of more than 25% even as hawkish Federal Reserve remarks and a fresh U.S.-Iran military clash capped Monday's advance. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole comments lifted rate-hike bets, while Strategy resumed buying bitcoin after a two-month pause.
Bitcoin added 0.5% to $79,038.3 by 17:44 ET (21:44 GMT) on Monday. The world's largest crypto is on track for a monthly surge of more than 25%, even as gains were held back by hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh and a fresh escalation between the U.S. and Iran.
Warsh comments push up rate-hike bets
Speaking at the Jackson Hole economic symposium on Friday, Warsh said the Fed remained committed to its 2% annual inflation target. He did not explicitly mention plans to raise rates, but the remarks were widely viewed as hawkish, and traders are now pricing a 60.4% chance of a 25 basis-point hike in September, according to CME Fedwatch. Nonfarm payrolls data due later this week is expected to offer more direct cues on the central bank's plans for rates.
Higher rates bode poorly for speculative assets like Bitcoin. Yet the sector's rally this month was fueled chiefly by a sharp drop in Treasury yields that followed bond market intervention by the U.S. Treasury.
U.S.-Iran military escalation weighs
The U.S. and Iran exchanged strikes on Sunday, their first such move in over a month, spooking crypto along with broader risk assets. Oil prices rose sharply on the development, adding to concerns over higher inflation and interest rates. President Donald Trump threatened to attack Iran's Kharg island oil export hub, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent flagged plans for more sanctions on Tehran.
Strategy resumes buying after two-month pause
Strategy made its first Bitcoin purchase since late June. It acquired 4,603 coins for $369.7 million last week at an average price of $80,318 each. The purchase was funded through the sale of $602.8 million in common stock. Part of the remaining proceeds went to $151.8 million in buybacks of the company's STRC preferred shares.
Michael Saylor's Strategy now holds 845,050 bitcoin, acquired for $63.73 billion at an average price of $75,412 per coin.
Source: Investing.com
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