- In a post on X, Tom Lee said inflation trends may be softer than anticipated, pointing to the gap between the consumer price index and truflation, which is at a near five-year high.
- He agreed that reported inflation could fall “significantly” over the next six months.
- Falling inflation would raise the odds of an interest rate cut, which has historically led to more capital for riskier assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
- Traders are watching for Bitmine’s weekly Ethereum purchase update on Monday, with a user on Stocktwits anticipating the company’s biggest buy since mid-December.
Bitmine Immersion Technologies’ (BMNR) Chairman Tom Lee said Sunday night that inflation may be softer than markets anticipate, ahead of the company’s expected Monday update on its latest Ethereum (ETH) purchases.
“Underlying inflation trends are far softer than many realize,” he wrote, responding to a post on X noting that the gap between the consumer price index (CPI) and truflation is near a five-year high. “If the Truflation numbers are a good predictor of where official CPI is heading, reported inflation could fall significantly over the next 6 months,” said the post by ex-hedge fund manager Garth Friesen.
For Lee, softer inflation would strengthen the case for the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates, which usually directs more capital towards riskier assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
U.S. Inflation Cools Down
The comments come after the latest U.S. CPI numbers showed that inflation in January was cooler than expected, but still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Headline CPI rose 2.4% year-on-year, while core CPI rose 2.5%. The gap between CPI and truflation currently stands at around -1.5, last seen mid-2023, according to the truflation gauge.
BMNR Stock Falls With Ethereum Slide
BMNR’s stock was down over 4% in overnight trade on Sunday, struggling to climb back above $20 this month. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the Ethereum-backed digital asset treasury (DAT) continued to trend in ‘bearish’ territory over the past day.
The dip in BMNR shares came alongside Ethereum’s price underperforming Bitcoin and falling 5.2% in the last 24 hours to $1,873. According to Lee, ETH is poised for a sharp rebound, having flagged “perfect bottom” at $1,890. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Ethereum trended in ‘extremely bearish’ territory over the past day.
Bitmine’s Weekly Ethereum Buy On Monday
Traders are anticipating that Bitmine will disclose a new Ethereum purchase on Monday as part of its weekly treasury update. The company has a target to accumulate 5% of Ethereum’s circulating supply. With roughly 4.37 million ETH already in its coffers, it has achieved about 72.3% of that target. The company has continued to buy the dip in Ethereum during the crypto winter this year.
One bearish user on Stocktwits said that owning BMNR shares is as bad as accumulating meme coins.
A more bullish user anticipated that BMNR is going to announce an Ethereum purchase of around 62,000 tokens on Monday – the highest weekly accumulation since mid-December. They forecast that once the company hits its 5% target, things are likely to turn around.
BMNR’s stock is down over 28% this year, while Ethereum’s price has fallen nearly 37%.
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