The crypto market is falling again, down about 2% and now near $2.27 trillion. Bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency, has erased its recent gains and is down to $65,253. Ethereum fell 4% in the last 24 hours.
Other altcoins, including XRP, Solana, Dogecoin, and Bitcoin Cash, also dropped between 5% and 18%.
So, what is pushing Bitcoin and Ethereum prices down today?
One major reason behind this drop is that the latest U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) for January came in higher than expected.
January’s PPI came in at 2.9% year-over-year, above the expected 2.6%. Core PPI rose to 3.6%, also higher than forecasts. This suggests inflation remains strong, reducing the chances of an early interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
Higher rates usually make safer assets like bonds more attractive, pulling money away from riskier assets such as crypto.
The sharp move caused heavy liquidations. Over 96,000 traders were wiped out in the past 24 hours, with total liquidations reaching around $260 million.
Nearly 70% of these were long positions, meaning traders who were betting on higher prices were forced to close. Bitcoin alone saw around $90 million in liquidations, while Ethereum recorded about $86.5 million.
Bitcoin has erased all the gains it made on February 26, when it briefly moved close to $70,000. Now, the month is ending on a weak note, with Bitcoin down nearly 16.75% in February.
This marks the first time in Bitcoin’s history that both January and February have closed in the red, with losses of around 10% and 16.75%.
If Bitcoin falls below the $62,553 level, it could retest the recent four-week low near $60,000.
Interestingly, on the positive side, history shows that Bitcoin has often bottomed around 23 months after its previous all-time high. We are now at that same 23-month mark.
Meanwhile, Ethereum has also moved lower, falling about 5.7% in the past 24 hours after failing to break its recent four-week high.
Other major coins, including XRP, Solana, Dogecoin, and Bitcoin Cash, have recorded steeper losses between 5% and 18%. The broader market is clearly reacting to Bitcoin’s weakness.
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