The crypto market mood was sombre Friday, with XRP losing key support alongside declines in market leader bitcoin and other major tokens, as traders awaited the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the core PCE.
Payments-focused XRP dipped below the 200-day simple moving average (SMA) for the first time since April 10, indicating a strengthening of downward momentum. Prices fell below $2.20, registering a 4.6% loss on a 24-hour basis, according to data from TradingView.
This decline occurred despite reports of increasing demand for XRP as a corporate Treasury asset.
Prices for BTC, the premier digital asset by market value, briefly fell below $105,000 during European hours, extending overnight losses to trade nearly 3% lower on a 24-hour basis.
BTC’s losses followed a $358 million net outflow from the 11 spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on Thursday, marking the first outflow since May 13 and the highest single-day tally since March 11, as highlighted by data from SoSoValue. Renewed trade war fears also weighted heavily on market sentiment.
Other major cryptocurrencies, such as ETH, SOL, and DOGE, experienced larger losses, while smaller tokens like OP, ARB, BONK, and PEPE plummeted by over 10%, according to data from Coingecko.
Focus on U.S. Core PCE
Consumer prices, measured by the personal consumption expenditure index, rose 0.15% on a monthly basis in April, lowering the annual inflation rate to 2.2% from 2.3% in March, according to economists surveyed by FactSet.
The core PCE, which serves as the Fed’s preferred inflation measure and excludes volatile food and energy prices, is expected to have risen 0.12% on a monthly basis and 2.5% on an annual basis.
A positive reading for inflation could enhance expectations for a Fed rate cut, which would likely favor BTC and other assets.
As Valentin Fournier, Lead Research Analyst at BRN, stated in an email, “All eyes now turn to the Core PCE data due today, which could reignite bullish sentiment if inflation shows signs of easing.”
