Bitcoin Tops $81,000 as Fed Rate-Hike Bets Cool After Waller Comments

Bitcoin (BTC) jumped above $81,000 after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller signaled he may support holding rates steady at the central bank's September 15–16 meeting, prompting markets to scale back expectations for another hike. Speaking Friday, Waller said the Fed is inclined to keep interest rates unchanged in September unless upcoming inflation data delivers an unexpected upside surprise. He noted inflation remains "significantly above" the Fed's 2% target, but recent readings suggest disinflation is beginning to strengthen again. Waller also said the price impact from tariffs has been limited and higher energy costs have not broadly spilled over into other parts of the economy. "Let's give disinflation a chance. We can wait one meeting," Waller said, arguing a single 25-basis-point hike would not quickly return inflation to 2%. He added he could still back a hike if inflation re-accelerates in August. CME FedWatch data showed a sharp repricing after the remarks: the implied probability of a September hike fell to 48.4% from 63.2% on Wednesday. The odds of rates staying in the current 3.50–3.75% range rose to 51.6%. Waller's tone contrasted with Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh's more hawkish message at last week's Jackson Hole gathering, where Warsh said recent lower inflation prints were not enough to prove a durable improvement in underlying price trends. Markets are now focused on August consumer inflation data due Sept. 11, which Waller said will be central to the September rate decision. Risk assets benefited from the retreat in hike expectations, with crypto leading the move. Bitcoin rose about 4.3% over the past 24 hours to roughly $81,300. Its market value stood near $1.62 trillion, with 24-hour trading volume approaching $33 billion. Gains were broad-based: Ethereum (ETH) climbed nearly 4% to around $2,495, BNB added 4.7%, and Solana (SOL) rose 4.6%. XRP outperformed large-cap tokens, jumping 8.6% to $1.45. *This is not investment advice.