Waller Backs December Hike, Bitcoin Slips Toward $74K

Waller's framing is notable less for the December hike itself than for the explicit trigger he attached to it: a monthly core CPI threshold that turns each inflation print into a live policy signal. That mechanical link is what crypto traders appear to be pricing, with prediction-market odds shifting and bitcoin softening toward $74,000. The takeaway is that macro data, not crypto-specific flows, is setting the near-term tone. Whether that sensitivity persists through the next CPI release is the open question.