Major Bitcoin holders remain passive amid anticipation of key economic events. According to analyst Ali Martinez, citing Santiment Intelligence data, whale holdings have stayed nearly unchanged at approximately 5.23 million BTC over the past week. The absence of active accumulation or distribution suggests that large market participants are taking a wait-and-see stance ahead of two critical events – the release of U.S. inflation data and the Federal Reserve meeting.
In the coming days, the market will receive several important macroeconomic signals at once. Today sees the release of the Producer Price Index (PPI) report for August, followed the next day – by the more significant Consumer Price Index (CPI). These figures take on particular importance against the backdrop of a recent strong U.S. jobs report, which substantially raised the probability of a Fed rate hike. Current forecasts show a 60% probability of a rate increase in September, although a Reuters poll found that most economists still expect the central bank to keep rates unchanged. In addition, the Senate has scheduled a procedural vote on September 15 to advance the CLARITY Act, developments around which traditionally affect crypto asset prices. That will be followed by the Fed's interest rate decision with a press conference by Kevin Warsh and updated economic projections. The week will close with the Bank of Japan's own rate announcement, where a potential hike could put additional pressure on global bond and currency markets.
While whales await further developments, Bitcoin's price has been consolidating in a range between $77,500 and $80,000 for about a week. Each attempt to break higher has met resistance at the upper boundary, while the lower boundary has provided support during pullbacks. This market uncertainty is likely to shift over the coming week as the PPI, CPI, the CLARITY Act vote, the Fed's decision, and the Bank of Japan's announcement all arrive in quick succession. Bitcoin is expected to exit the consolidation phase that has persisted for several weeks following the mid-August decline.