Bitcoin Holds Near $71,200 as 10-Year Yield Tops 5%, MSCI Drops Strategy

Bitcoin traded near $71,200 on Thursday after touching a fresh session low, pressured by a 10-year Treasury yield that climbed about 12 basis points to 5.105% and touched 5.12% — its highest level since Oct. 21, according to market data. The move came after President Donald Trump said the United States does not need a deal with Iran, Reuters reported, while Brent crude settled at $95.82 a barrel, up 3.3%, following escalated attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure.

The two-year yield, which tracks Federal Reserve expectations most closely, rose about 14 basis points to 4.867%. Fed funds futures are pricing in 29 basis points of hikes for December, with a quarter-point move as the base case and only slim odds of a half-point step, Reuters reported. Rising rates increase the cost of holding an asset that pays no interest, and that dynamic has weighed on bitcoin all week.

How hard did bitcoin-linked equities fall?

Bitcoin-linked stocks had the harder session. Strategy (MSTR), which MSCI is removing from its USA Index at the Nov. 30 close, finished at $114.41, down 6.5%. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) closed at $40.36, down 4.5%, after bleeding $2 billion over nine straight days of outflows through Wednesday.

The Treasury Department added a fiscal pressure point after the close. The government ran a $404 billion deficit in October, the first month of fiscal 2027, up 42% from $284 billion a year earlier. Receipts fell to $369 billion while outlays rose to $773 billion; some benefit payments normally made on Nov. 1, a Sunday, shifted into October.

What did the DOJ do about the Binance hack?

The Justice Department said it has court authority to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion of cryptocurrency stolen from Binance in October's North Korea-linked heist. Officials said the freeze halted about half the breach.

Binance, in a separate announcement, said it has fully covered the $6.34 billion in user losses with company funds.

Jane Street's quarterly 13F filing showed it raised its Strategy stake 54% as of Sept. 30, though large options positions point to hedging rather than a directional bet.

Gemini reported third-quarter revenue of $40.9 million after the close, down 19%, as platform trading volume fell 73%. Its net loss narrowed 63% to $58.6 million.

None of the announcements lifted bitcoin off its session lows.

What comes next for rates and risk assets?

Friday's Producer Price Index is the next inflation test for markets pricing further Fed tightening. Nvidia is still scheduled to report quarterly results on Nov. 17 under its interim leadership, an event that has repeatedly moved broad risk sentiment in recent quarters.

With the 10-year yield holding above 5% and December hike expectations embedded in futures, the cost-of-carry math for non-yielding assets stays unfavorable into the inflation print.