Bitcoin Climbs Above $81,000 as Fed’s September Rate Decision Comes Into Focus

Bitcoin touched $81,400 on Sept. 3, its highest intraday price since May, after a Federal Reserve official indicated that cooling short-term inflation could justify keeping interest rates unchanged at the central bank's Sept. 15-16 meeting.

As CCN reported, the rally followed remarks by Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who pointed to a notable improvement in the three-month annualized rate of core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation, a measure that strips out food and energy prices, as a reason to pause further rate increases.

Waller's Inflation Case for a September Hold

The three-month core PCE figure that Waller cited fell to 3.05% through July 2026, down from 4.76% in February. Waller described the pace of that decline as encouraging, signaling openness to a pause, though he stopped short of committing to any outcome.

Annual PCE inflation stood at 3.7% as of the same period, while annual core PCE was 3.3%, both above the Fed's 2% target.

Waller noted that earlier price pressures tied to tariffs and energy appeared to have faded without triggering the broader, persistent inflation he had feared.

He cautioned that an unexpectedly strong August inflation print could still tip the balance toward a rate hike.

Markets Split Ahead of Sept. 16 Decision

After Waller's remarks, market expectations for a September rate increase dropped from roughly 59% to around 50%, according to CCN. Two-year Treasury yields fell and the dollar softened, conditions that historically ease financial pressure on risk assets like Bitcoin.

Those yield moves represent a reversal from the trend that followed Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's hawkish Jackson Hole address.

The Fed itself was divided at its July meeting, where policymakers voted 9-3 to leave rates unchanged, with three members preferring a 25-basis-point (0.25 percentage point) increase.

Gold advocate Peter Schiff pushed back on the more dovish read of Waller's comments, arguing that signaling openness to a hold is not the same as ruling out a hike.

Schiff also noted that a 25-basis-point increase may be insufficient to contain inflation if price pressures pick back up, and pointed to gold climbing more than $100 as evidence that markets still expect some inflation persistence.

August CPI Report Is the Next Trigger

The next major data point before the Fed's September decision is the August Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, due before the meeting opens.

Bitcoin's near-term direction is closely tied to that release, with traders watching whether inflation data confirms or undermines Waller's case for holding.

Bitcoin was trading up 0.24% against the dollar as of the date of publication, Sept. 5, 2026.