Bitcoin Slides to a Three-Month Low as December Fed Hike Bets Firm Up

By Coinvote

Published November 14, 2026 - 11:26 UTC | 5 mins read

Bitcoin Slides to a Three-Month Low as December Fed Hike Bets Firm Up

Bitcoin fell to its lowest level in 12 weeks as sticky inflation, a likely Federal Reserve rate increase in December and six sessions of spot ETF outflows combined. The Defiant and Decrypt read the same data differently, which matters for traders.

Bitcoin drops to a 12-week low on rate worries

Bitcoin fell to roughly $68,500 on Friday, its weakest level in 12 weeks, according to Decrypt. The outlet linked the drop to renewed U.S. inflation concerns, expectations of a Federal Reserve rate increase and withdrawals from exchange-traded funds. Decrypt put BTC down about 4.5% over 24 hours and 9.5% over the week, with Ethereum near $1,925 and Solana below $80.

Market data from CoinGecko, taken later, shows a slightly deeper decline. Bitcoin trades at $67,214, down 3.1% on the day and 11.5% over seven days. Ethereum stands at $1,907, down 2.4% on the day and 15.0% on the week. Over 30 days, BTC has lost 17.2% and ETH 19.6%.

Fed officials signal that the next move is a hike

Decrypt reported that Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee warned on Friday of price pressures reaching past energy costs and tariffs. He pointed to rising services and medical costs and to demand from AI data centers. Asked whether prices were heading back to 2%, he said his feeling was that they were not, citing Reuters. Goolsbee did not explicitly back a December increase.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller was more direct. On Tuesday he said he supported raising rates by at least 25 basis points at the December 8-9 meeting. He added that if October core CPI came in near 0.3% or higher, "a stronger policy move may be needed." Decrypt said the report then showed core CPI up exactly 0.3%, against a 0.2% forecast.

The numbers behind the sell-off

Decrypt's account combines inflation data, rate pricing and fund flows. The figures below come from that report.

Producer prices rose 0.3% in October, below forecasts, but were up 6.5% from a year earlier, the largest annual jump since 2022.
Rate futures on November 13 implied a 91.9% chance of a 25-basis-point increase and an 8.1% chance of a 50-basis-point increase, Decrypt reported. These are trader expectations, not a Fed decision.
The Fed's current target range is 3.75% to 4.00%.
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows of about $1.49 billion between November 5 and November 12, including $47.7 million on Thursday.
Those funds still hold about $55.5 billion in cumulative net inflows.

Two outlets, two readings of the same data

The headline from The Defiant said Bitcoin and Ether edged higher as producer prices hit 6.5%. Its summary said both headline inflation readings undershot forecasts, yet rate markets still favored a December hike. Only the headline and summary were available for that report, so its timing and the size of any gain are not established.

Decrypt describes a falling market, with BTC at a 12-week low. The two accounts are not necessarily in conflict, since they may refer to different hours. They do agree on the central point that cooler-than-forecast headline figures did not change expectations of a December increase. Decrypt adds that core CPI was above forecast, which helps explain why.

The outlets also use different reference points for Bitcoin's peak. Decrypt measures a retreat of roughly 21% from an autumn high near $86,000. CoinGecko lists an all-time high of $126,080 on October 6, 2025. Readers comparing drawdowns should check which peak a source uses.

Decrypt also describes the ETF outflows both as six consecutive sessions and as a five-day streak extended on Thursday. The $1.49 billion total covers November 5 to November 12.

Why rates and fund flows weigh on crypto

Decrypt notes that higher rates make interest-bearing assets relatively more attractive and reduce the appeal of speculative holdings such as Bitcoin. Fund outflows add to this because ETF shares are redeemed rather than bought. Forced liquidations of leveraged traders can then speed up a decline when buyers are scarce.

Decrypt's technical read is cautious. Bitcoin's daily chart shows lower highs and lower lows, and the price has dropped below the 50-day exponential moving average. That average remains above the 200-day line. The relative strength index is 25.4, which is below the 30 level generally seen as oversold. Decrypt concluded that this leaves room for a bounce but no proof of a bottom.

Ethereum's DeFi activity is a small counterweight in the data. DefiLlama puts Ethereum's DeFi TVL at $38.80 billion. Teams launching on the network can follow new Ethereum listings as sentiment shifts.

Dates and price levels to watch

Decrypt points to two scheduled macroeconomic events. The minutes of the Fed's November 18 meeting and the PCE inflation release on November 25 could move rate expectations ahead of the December 8-9 decision. A hotter reading could push traders toward the half-point scenario that futures currently price at 8.1%. Whether the minutes show wider support for a larger move is an open question.

Decrypt marks immediate support near $67,650, Friday's intraday low, with a deeper zone near $64,000. CoinGecko's current price of $67,214 sits below the first level. Whether that is a brief dip or a sustained break is unclear. On the upside, Decrypt lists $70,815 and $72,775 as hurdles before a resistance zone between $74,355 and $75,937.

Another open question is whether ETF outflows slow. Decrypt does not read the $55.5 billion in cumulative inflows as institutional abandonment, but it treats the recent withdrawals as a sign of nervousness.

Market snapshot

Asset	Price	24h	7d	Market cap
Bitcoin (BTC)	$67,214	-3.1%	-11.5%	$1.35 trillion
Ethereum (ETH)	$1,907	-2.4%	-15.0%	$233.05 billion

CoinGecko data as of 2026-11-14 (UTC); DeFi TVL from DefiLlama: Ethereum $38.80 billion.

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FAQ

Why did Bitcoin fall to a 12-week low?

Decrypt links the drop to persistent U.S. inflation, growing expectations of a Fed rate hike and ETF withdrawals. Core CPI rose 0.3% against a 0.2% forecast, and futures showed a 91.9% chance of a quarter-point hike in December.

How much have spot Bitcoin ETFs lost recently?

Decrypt reported net outflows of about $1.49 billion between November 5 and November 12, including $47.7 million on Thursday. The funds still hold about $55.5 billion in cumulative net inflows.

When is the next Fed decision?

The Fed meets on December 8-9. Before that, the November 18 meeting minutes and the November 25 PCE inflation report are the two data points Decrypt flags for traders.