10-Year Yield Tops 5.2% as Bitcoin Retreats From $87K

The 10-year Treasury yield crossed 5.2% on Sept. 24, and Bitcoin pulled back from $87,000 to about $84,000 even as ETF inflows continued.

The US 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 5.18% on Sept. 24, up from 5.11% a day earlier, and touched 5.20% during the session before ending below that mark, according to Crypto News. The 30-year yield closed at 5.47%, its highest level since 2004, while AOL reports the 30-year traded as high as 5.49% intraday before easing in late afternoon. AOL notes the 10-year now stands at a 19-year high and that the average 30-year mortgage rate topped 7% this week for the first time since January 2025. Japan's 10-year yield also hit a three-decade high of 3.08% on Wednesday, per AOL, underscoring that the sell-off is global rather than a US-only repricing.

The bond rout traces to energy and monetary policy converging at once. Crypto News reports Brent crude settled at $106.60 a barrel on Sept. 24, up $3.52, after a Houthi missile attack on Saudi Arabia renewed supply concerns, with West Texas Intermediate finishing at $94.61. AOL attributes sustained pressure to the Iran war, which had cost the Pentagon $42 billion as of last month and restricted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson put underlying inflation at 2.5% to 3% and supported last week's quarter-point hike, while Governor Michael Barr said further policy adjustments are likely needed, per AOL. Traders now price roughly a 71% chance of another hike at the late October meeting, according to the CME FedWatch data cited by AOL.

Bitcoin traded around $84,000 after retreating from the $87,000 area earlier in the week, Crypto News reports, though the pullback has been limited so far. Notably, the coin had rallied after the Sept. 16 rate hike and moved above $82,000, showing the last increase did not stop gains. Buying support remains visible: Crypto News reports wallets holding 100 to 1,000 BTC accumulated 113,950 BTC between July 15 and Sept. 24, and US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded their fifth consecutive session of net inflows on Sept. 23. But HashKey Group senior researcher Tim Sun cautioned, per Crypto News, that short-term ETF flows often follow Bitcoin's price rather than reliably predicting its next move, leaving durability an open question.

Higher yields are testing crypto demand just as the industry waits longer for US market rules. Crypto News reports the Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on Sept. 15, with 49 votes for and 50 against on a motion needing 60; seven Senate Democrats reopened talks afterward without securing a new vote. Fireblocks US policy director Jessica Martinez told Crypto News that firms will keep building without the bill, but legislation would provide rules with more staying power than agency decisions. In the interim, the CFTC submitted proposed crypto market rules for White House review on Sept. 18, and the SEC issued an exemption for certain tokenized securities activity. Equity markets, for now, shrugged: the S&P 500 slipped 0.02% and the Nasdaq gained 0.01% on Sept. 24, per Crypto News.