U.S. April CPI Rises 3.8%; Bitcoin Slips Slightly
U.S. consumer prices rose more than expected in April, posting the highest annual increase since 2023, while inflation concerns weighed modestly on Bitcoin (BTC).
As of 8 p.m. ET on May 12, Bitcoin on South Korea’s Bithumb exchange traded at $80,093, down 0.71% from 24 hours earlier.
At the same time, Bitcoin traded at $80,498 on CoinMarketCap, down 1.41% from a day earlier.
Bitcoin held above the $80,000-level, but inflationary pressure continued to weigh on sentiment. According to the U.S. Department of Labor on Monday, April CPI rose 3.8% from a year earlier, above the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 3.7% and marking the highest annual increase since 2023.
Concerns also grew that rising oil prices driven by the U.S.-Iran conflict could fuel stagflation — a combination of high inflation and slowing economic growth. U.S. stocks closed mixed on the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 56.09 points, or 0.11%, to close at 49,760.56. The S&P 500 fell 11.88 points, or 0.16%, to 7,400.96, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 185.92 points, or 0.71%, to end at 26,088.20.
Revised CLARITY Act Faces Debate Ahead of Senate Markup
A revised version of the CLARITY Act, a U.S. digital asset market structure bill, is drawing controversy ahead of a Senate Banking Committee markup scheduled for May 14.
Three Republican senators released the updated draft on Sunday ahead of the committee review. The revised legislation builds on last year’s proposal and reflects negotiations between the crypto industry and banking sector over stablecoin interest payments.
The controversy centers on unrelated housing provisions and the absence of ethics rules. The latest draft includes a “Build Now Act” provision aimed at encouraging housing development projects in areas participating in the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.
Some Democratic lawmakers have said they will oppose the bill unless it includes clearer ethics provisions addressing potential conflicts of interest.
Report Says North Korean Crypto Hacking Has Become ‘Industrialized’
North Korean cryptocurrency hacking operations have effectively become industrialized, according to a new report.
Blockchain security firm CertiK said in a recent report cited by Cointelegraph that North Korea has turned crypto theft into a core national revenue strategy.
The report estimated that North Korea accounted for roughly 60% of all cryptocurrency hacking losses worldwide last year, adding that the regime increasingly relies on crypto theft to secure foreign currency.
BitMine Slows Ethereum Purchases
BitMine, the world’s largest Ethereum treasury company, said it will slow the pace of its Ethereum (ETH) purchases.
The company said Monday it acquired an additional 26,659 ETH last week, significantly below its previous pace of purchasing 100,000 ETH per week.
Chairman Tom Lee said the company’s goal of accumulating 5% of Ethereum’s circulating supply by year-end remains unchanged.
“If we continued buying 100,000 ETH per week, we would reach that target by July, so we decided to slow the pace of purchases,” Lee said.