Bitcoin retreated Friday afternoon after a strong rally fueled by investment in U.S. Bitcoin ETFs, trading at $77,379 in New York after falling more than 3% over 24 hours. It had reached a weekly high of $81,281. The pullback followed Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s first major speech as head of the central bank, in which he said he had “more work to do” to fight inflation. Bitcoin has historically faced pressure when the Federal Reserve sees inflation as too high, reducing the likelihood of interest-rate cuts; the asset generally performs better in lower-rate conditions. U.S. Bitcoin ETFs attracted $1.14 billion this week and more than $3 billion over the past nine days. Funds managed by BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale recorded net inflows for nine consecutive days, according to Farside Investors. Last week was their strongest since October, when Bitcoin reached a new all-time high, and inflows continued into this week. Since August 17, investors have committed more than $3 billion to the funds, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust receiving the largest share and Morgan Stanley’s new Bitcoin Trust also seeing significant inflows. Analysts have linked the renewed interest to the debasement trade, an investment strategy used to hedge against currency losing value. Supporters of that strategy view Bitcoin, gold, and other precious metals as protection against excessive government spending. Total U.S. debt crossed $40 trillion for the first time this month.