Bitcoin price jumps to $81.5K as US GDP data beats expectations

Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded above $81,000 after Thursday’s Wall Street open as US GDP numbers stayed strong and inflation data conformed to estimates.

Key points:

• Bitcoin jumped to $81,547 on the back of strong US macro data, dismissing Alphabet’s Q3 earnings miss.
• US PCE data conformed to expectations at 3.6% year-on-year, while Q3 GDP came in higher at 3.4% versus 3.2% expected.
• BTC/USD needs to reclaim $81,400 by the weekly close, per analysis by Rekt Capital.

Bitcoin brushes off Alphabet earnings miss

Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD reaching $81,547 on Bitstamp after dropping as low as $79,607 following Wednesday’s daily close.

BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The September print of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, acknowledged as Fed policymakers’ favorite indicator, showed an increase of 0.5% versus August and 3.6% year-on-year.

“Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 3.1 percent from one year ago,” an official release from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) stated.

US PCE index one-month % change. Source: BEA

The final estimate for Q3 GDP was 3.4%, above expectations of 3.2%. Speaking to CNBC, Chris Rupkey, chief economist at Fwdbonds, described economic growth “powering ahead despite the uncertainty of geopolitical risks and the damage posed to many sectors of the economy by higher energy costs.”

“The economy was thought to have been a lost cause during much of the current Administration’s time in office, but real GDP has bounced back above a 3% run rate in Q3 2026 for the first time in a year,” he noted.

US stock markets nonetheless opened lower, led by tech giant Alphabet, which fell 12% on the back of missed earnings and Q3 revenue figures.

Alphabet stock one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

At the latest meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) on Wedneaday, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at 3.75-4%, also in line with what markets had anticipated. In a subsequent statement, chair Kevin Warsh said that the economic activity was “expanding at a strong pace,” while describing inflation as “elevated.”

“While uncertainty remains elevated owing, in part, to geopolitical developments, domestic spending has been resilient. Productivity growth is strong, and capital investment is robust. Job gains have kept pace with the workforce, and the unemployment rate has changed little,” he added.

Analyst sees $81,400 reclaim as key for weekly close

BTC price action still contended with overhead resistance on low time frames, with crypto trader and analyst Rekt Capital seeing $81,400 as the nearest hurdle for buyers to overcome.

Related: Bitcoin long-term resistance in focus as analysis sees selling risk above $85K

“Bitcoin is experiencing lots of zig-zagging relative to both the Weekly levels of ~$80400 and $81400 And this will probably continue going into the new Weekly Close,” he wrote in his latest analysis on X.

BTC/USD one-day chart. Source: Rekt Capital on X.com

Rekt Capital thus saw the need to reclaim $81,400 by the weekly candle close. The monthly close, meanwhile, was set to see BTC/USD drop 3.3% in October. Previously, Cointelegraph reported that the month of October has produced average returns of 26% since 2010.