Inflation is throwing a wrench in the Fed’s plans. Today’s U.S. inflation data came in above expectations. As a result, interest rate expectations for December have risen sharply again, after declining since the end of September. The problem for Bitcoin and stocks: The longer the Fed must keep rates high—or even raise them further—the more challenging the environment becomes for risky assets. What matters most, therefore, isn’t just how high inflation is. But how far the Fed still needs to go to bring it under control.