NEW YORK — Bitcoin hovered just below the psychologically important $68,000 mark on Friday while two-year U.S. Treasury yields climbed to 4.01%, underscoring investors’ split view of risk as they parse mixed economic signals.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency changed hands at $67,850 at 2 p.m. ET, roughly flat on the day but up 3% for the week, according to LSEG price data. The move came as the yield on the policy-sensitive two-year note hit its highest level since early April after Thursday’s stronger-than-expected U.S. jobless-claims report tempered hopes for a near-term Federal Reserve rate cut.
“Bitcoin has proved remarkably resilient in the face of firmer yields,” said Victor Zhang, crypto strategist at digital-asset broker Cumberland, citing steady inflows into spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. “That suggests there is still sidelined institutional capital buying every dip.”
Data from BitMEX Research show that the 11 U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs—approved in January—logged a combined $305 million of net inflows over the past five trading sessions, reversing the outflows seen in late May. BlackRock’s IBIT led with $142 million.
While bitcoin has gained 62% year to date, it remains below the all-time high of $73,798 set on March 14. Analysts attribute the consolidation to uncertainty about the Fed’s policy path and to reduced liquidity as traders await the Consumer Price Index release on June 12 and the Fed’s policy decision the same day.
“Bond markets are taking the Fed at its word that rates will stay higher for longer,” said Priya Misra, head of global rates strategy at TD Securities. “That narrative is capping gold but has not had the same dampening effect on crypto, which is still behaving like a high-beta tech proxy.”
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, slipped 0.4% to $3,840 even after the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday closed its investigation into Ethereum Foundation sales without recommending enforcement, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Looking ahead, analysts at JPMorgan wrote in a note that a decisive break above $70,000 “would require either softer inflation or further evidence of ETF demand,” warning that failure to clear resistance could invite “quick mean-reversion to the $60,000–$62,000 area.”
Still, with the next bitcoin supply-halving now completed and U.S. election season ramping up, crypto-native investors say structural factors favor higher prices. “Volatility is low, but complacency can flip fast,” said Clara Medrano, portfolio manager at Galaxy Digital. “A single dovish datapoint could propel BTC to new highs before the end of the summer.”