Bitcoin staged a bounce Thursday after May's Consumer Price Index showed cooler core inflation, even as headline energy costs ran hot. The move lifted major crypto assets intraday, but the relief proved narrow: ether and large-cap altcoins are still nursing weekly losses of 6% to 8%.
The divergence highlights a market that rewarded bitcoin alone for the core inflation signal. While headline CPI pressure from energy weighed on sentiment, the so-called "under the hood" softness gave traders enough cover to rotate into BTC, leaving alts behind.
Ether and other major tokens failed to hold the brief lift, extending a seven-day slide that has erased recent gains. The broader crypto market remains skittish, with altcoin liquidity thinning as macro uncertainty persists.
Analysts caution that a single CPI print does not mark a trend, and sticky energy costs could re-ignite hawkish Fed bets. If core inflation proves stickier than expected, bitcoin's bounce may prove short-lived, echoing previous false dawns in this cycle.