Bitcoin and Gold Outlook: BTC and XAU slide as Fed Chair goes hawkish

• Bitcoin moderates below $80,000 amid seemingly overextended momentum indicators.
• Gold gives back some gains as it corrects below $4,600 on Friday.
• Fed Chair Kevin Warsh highlights inflation concerns at the Jackson Hole Symposium, hinting at higher interest rates.

Bitcoin (BTC) and Gold (XAU/USD) are broadly retreating on Friday as investors reevaluate their positions after recent price gains. Bitcoin approached $81,500 earlier in the day but faced rejection, fueling the ongoing correction. Meanwhile, XAU/USD hovers below $4,600, following a 3% decline from the pair's August peak of $4,697.

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh raises inflation concerns

Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Kevin Warsh, in his speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium in Wyoming on Friday, raised concerns about elevated inflation in the United States (US). Warsh cautioned that if price pressure does not ease, the situation would warrant stricter monetary policy, including raising interest rates.

“While this summer’s [inflation] readings were better than expected, they do not tell me that underlying trends have meaningfully improved,” Warsh said, adding “we must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at sufficient speed. Otherwise, we have work to do. That’s our job, our mandate and our charge to keep.”

As anticipated, the Fed chair avoided committing to forward guidance or offering clues about the central bank’s intentions. However, he expressed confidence in the economy, saying that it “appears to have strengthened.”

Technical analysis: Bitcoin's upside capped as downside risks linger

Bitcoin edges lower below $80,000 following a second rejection from the $81,000-$82,000 supply range in less than two weeks. Still, the Crypto King remains in a bullish phase above key Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), reinforcing a constructive medium-term trend.

Momentum stays affirmative, with the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator still in positive territory even as its latest reading hints at some loss of upside strength. At the same time, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) hovers in overbought territory around 78, suggesting the advance could be prone to bouts of consolidation or corrective pullbacks.

On the downside, initial dynamic support emerges at the 200-day EMA around $72,069, where a deeper correction would be expected to attract dip-buying interest in line with the prevailing uptrend. Below that, the 50-day EMA at approximately $68,694 and the nearby 100-day EMA around $68,360 form a secondary demand zone that should act as a more substantial medium-term floor while the broader bullish structure remains intact.

Gold technical outlook: XAU risks extending trend reversal

XRP trades around $4,580, extending its advance well above the main moving averages, which maintains a bullish near-term bias. Momentum remains constructive, with the RSI easing from overbought territory but still holding in the mid-60s, while the MACD stays positive, suggesting bullish pressure is moderating rather than reversing.

Initial support lies at the recent pivot zone around $4,580, reinforced by the 100-day EMA at $4,364, followed by the 50-day EMA at $4,336 and the 200-day EMA at $4,315, where buyers could look to defend the broader uptrend.

A deeper pullback toward the descending trendline break region near $4,267 would still keep the medium-term structure constructive, with only a sustained move below that area suggesting that Gold’s bullish phase is at risk of a more significant correction.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool. Know more.)