Hot U.S. Inflation Pushes the Crypto Market Into the Red

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U.S. inflation is heating up, and the crypto market is paying the price. Within 24 hours, almost all major crypto assets lost value: According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin fell 1.8 percent to about $82,000, and Ethereum dropped 3.3 percent to about $2,430. Stellar (down 4.5 percent), Chainlink (down 4.4 percent), Cardano (down 3.9 percent) and NEAR (down 3.6 percent) fell even more sharply. New U.S. inflation data that came in hotter than expected is adding pressure, along with fears of another interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve.

Prices at a Glance

The table below shows the largest crypto assets by market capitalization, excluding the stablecoins Tether and USDC, which remain pegged to the U.S. dollar.

The CoinMarketCap 20 Index, which tracks the 20 largest crypto assets, is down 1.77 percent over 24 hours.

Altcoins Fall Harder Than Bitcoin

As is often the case in nervous markets, altcoins are taking a bigger hit than Bitcoin. Ethereum, Solana and Dogecoin each lost more than 3 percent over the past 24 hours, almost twice as much as Bitcoin. Order books for smaller coins are thinner, retail investors trade them more often with leverage, and many shift into Bitcoin or stablecoins during uncertain periods. That extends a trend: Over the week, Solana, Cardano, Hyperliquid and Zcash have each shed more than 10 percent. As recently as mid-September, coins such as Uniswap, NEAR, Zcash and Hyperliquid had posted double-digit gains.