Bitcoin Falls Below 62,400 Dollars as Rate-Hike Bets Pressure Hard Assets

Bitcoin fell more than 2 percent over 24 hours to about 62,380 dollars as traders raised the odds of a Federal Reserve rate increase this month, CoinDesk reported. Other major cryptocurrencies fell by 2 percent or more before the June inflation reading and Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh's testimony to Congress. Gold also slipped toward 4,000 dollars, pressured by the same prospect of higher United States real yields.

The decline shows how hard-money assets behave when the central bank is expected to raise rates rather than cut them. Assets valued for their fixed or non-government supply still move against the dollar and real interest rates in the short run. Expectations of a rate increase strengthened the dollar and pushed down both bitcoin and gold at the same time.

Apart from the price move, the bitcoin network showed a different kind of strength. CoinDesk reported that solo mining has increased sharply, with 24 blocks found by individual miners over the past year, up 41 percent, including one operator who earned about 200,000 dollars using roughly 150 dollars of equipment. The chances of success for any single miner are small, but rising solo participation broadens the base that secures the network.