Cryptocurrencies Collapse, Nearly 180,000 Liquidated as CPI Data Sparks Rate Hike Fears

TradingKey - CPI data hit the market hard; renewed rate-hike expectations triggered a cryptocurrency plunge, liquidating 180,000 traders in the crypto market.

On October 15, losses in the crypto market widened, with major coins approaching or falling below their previous lows. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin (BTC) fell over 2.5%, briefly approaching the $80,000 mark; Ethereum (ETH) dropped more than 5%, breaking below its two-month support level of $2,400; BNB (BNB) fell over 3%, approaching the $700 mark; Ripple (XRP) dropped over 4%, touching its recent support level of $1.3.

Losses of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap, source: CoinMarketCap

Yesterday, the US released September CPI data showing that core CPI rose 0.3% month-on-month in September (exceeding the expected 0.2%). Coupled with the rebound in headline CPI, this led the market to sharply downgrade the probability of a rate cut at the October 28 FOMC meeting, with markets even starting to price in the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates higher for longer or even reassessing its policy stance.

As concerns over tightening macro liquidity drove US Treasury yields and the US Dollar Index sharply higher, a massive accumulation of high-leverage long positions in the derivatives market was liquidated in a short period, triggering a widespread liquidation of leveraged longs across the cryptocurrency market. Over the past 24 hours, positions of 178,000 traders across the network were liquidated, with total liquidations reaching $950 million, setting a seven-day high for single-day liquidations. Among them, long liquidations accounted for $870 million, or nearly 92%.

Crypto market liquidation data, source: CoinGlass