Bitcoin shrugs off Warsh's inflation concerns

Bitcoin appeared to shrug off Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's inflation concerns after falling and then rebounding following his speech. Warsh gave his first major speech as head of the U.S. central bank. Bitcoin recently traded at $79,474. Bitcoin had fallen as low as $78,630 before rising again. Warsh said he had more work to do to fight inflation. Warsh said price stability was more concerning after discussing employment. Warsh said officials must be confident that underlying inflation is moving toward the Federal Reserve's objective at a sufficient speed. Traders priced in a 50% chance of a rate hike in September after the speech. Bitcoin has typically performed well in low interest rate environments. The Federal Reserve has been reluctant to lower borrowing costs because of persistent inflation in the U.S. Bitcoin started surging last week after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the department would double the size of its long-dated bond buybacks. The announcement pushed yields lower. The dollar fell. Non-yielding assets such as bitcoin and gold rose. President Donald Trump said the proposed crypto Clarity Act was a very powerful piece of legislation. Trump urged lawmakers to pass the bill. The proposed law would establish a framework for distinguishing digital assets as securities, commodities or payment stablecoins. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City will hold its annual event on Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The event will bring together central bankers, Federal Reserve officials, policymakers and academics to discuss financial innovation and its implications for payments and policy. The event will also address new technologies such as cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.