Bitcoin, ETH, XRP Drop 1% Following Hot CPI Inflation Print

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) are down 1% as consumer price inflation rose by 3.7% in September.

What the CPI Report Showed

As reported by Benzinga, September inflation came in hotter than forecast across the board:

Bitcoin plunged from around $83,800 to $82,800 in a single five-minute candle following the release, shedding roughly $1,000. 

A brief rebound toward $83,000 failed, and BTC slipped back to around $82,000.

XRP fell just as fast, dropping from around $1.38 to $1.36 in the same five-minute window, wiping out its earlier rally. It trades around $1.34 while ETH changes hands around $2,430.

Why Hougan Calls the Reaction ‘Impressive’

Bitwise’s Matt Hougan posted on X that he expected crypto to drop 3% to 5% once he saw the inflation numbers, before checking prices. 

Widely-followed market commentator pointed out that U.S. bond yields spiked alongside the inflation data, with the 5-year Treasury yield hitting a 19-year high of 5.15%, now sitting 115 basis points above the Fed’s benchmark rate of 3.75% to 4.00%. 

That gap shows bond investors demanding a much higher premium to lend to the US government over five years than the Fed currently charges banks overnight.