[Digital Today reporter Yoonseo Lee (이윤서)] Bitcoin fell below $64,000 ahead of the release of the U.S. consumer price index (CPI), hitting its lowest level in a week.

On Aug. 11 (all times local), blockchain media outlet Cointelegraph reported that gold prices rose to a nine-week high at the same time, showing investors’ preference for safe-haven assets had strengthened again.

On TradingView, BTC/USD failed to sustain an intraday rebound and slipped below $64,000. Bitcoin also closed down 1.5 percent the previous day. The market focused on concerns about war between the United States and Iran and a stalemate over reopening oil shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz. While international oil prices surged 5 percent, U.S. stocks moved sideways with no clear direction.

As uncertainty grew, money moved into gold. Spot gold rose to $4,435 an ounce, its highest level since June 5. After signs of expanding gold demand in China since August, retail investor money also appeared to be flowing into spot gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD), traded on NYSE Arca, recorded net retail inflows of $50 million on Aug. 5. Total inflows that day were $637 million, while combined inflows into spot bitcoin ETFs were $244.4 million.

Market analysis firm The Kobeissi Letter pointed out in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that "investors have invested $1.4 billion in GLD this month" and that "investment demand for gold is coming back." Retail investor demand that had been relatively weak in the cryptocurrency market was seen first in spot gold ETFs.

Bitcoin did not move completely opposite to gold. According to on-chain analysis firm CryptoQuant, the 90-day moving correlation between bitcoin and gold remained high. Ki Young Ju (주기영), chief executive officer of CryptoQuant, said, "The bitcoin-gold correlation has returned to digital-gold-era levels."

In the short term, the area below $66,000 continues to act as resistance. BTC/USD was trapped below the 50-month exponential moving average (EMA) at $65,827, an area that also overlaps with a large-scale short liquidation zone. Since early June, bitcoin has posted a daily close above the 50-month EMA only 3 times.

For this reason, market participants are watching whether range-bound trading below $66,000 will continue. Trader Michaël van de Poppe said, "Bitcoin is still stuck in a range," and mentioned the possibility that the recent correction was liquidity absorption aimed at liquidating leveraged long positions. He said, "If it moves sideways here and rebounds slightly to around $64,500, it could be a sign that a cascading decline will not continue."

The market’s next variable is the U.S. July CPI due on Aug. 12. The cryptocurrency market has previously weakened ahead of major U.S. inflation data, and when earlier, eased inflation data for July was released, it posted a rise of more than 4 percent in a day. As a result, in the short term, safe-haven demand and the inflation data outcome are more likely to jointly influence bitcoin’s direction.

Bitcoin–gold correlation is back to digital-gold-era levels. https://t.co/aSapxawDPD pic.twitter.com/WwfYmCTTyD