Hot US inflation drives Bitcoin and crypto market lower as liquidations reach $700 million

• US inflation rose 0.4% in October against forecasts of 0.3%, sending Bitcoin towards $73,000.
• With Ethereum, XRP and Solana deepening their losses, crypto liquidations totalled $716 million.
• A Bitcoin close below $73,000 support could pave the way for a fall towards $68,000, Wintermute warns.

October’s US Consumer Price Index (CPI) report exceeded expectations, reviving concerns over the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate outlook as Bitcoin (BTC) retreats towards $73,000 on Tuesday.

US inflation tops October forecasts

A 0.4% month-on-month rise in US consumer prices in October surpassed economists’ forecast of 0.3%, figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed. Nevertheless, the pace slowed from September’s 0.6% increase.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core CPI rose 0.3%, compared with a forecast of 0.2%. That matched September’s reading, indicating that underlying inflationary pressures have not yet subsided.

The previous year’s government shutdown had prevented the collection of data for October 2025, leaving the BLS unable to release its usual annual inflation figures.

With inflation higher, the Fed faces pressure to keep policy restrictive, a backdrop that has historically been less favourable to risk assets.

Fresh selling swept the crypto market following the inflation release. Bitcoin slipped below $73,000 and Ethereum (ETH) lost 5% to $2,029, while declines in BNB, XRP and Solana (SOL) stood at 2%, 4.3% and 5.3%, respectively.

According to Coinglass data, the sell-off prompted $716 million in futures liquidations over the past 24 hours, with long positions accounting for the bulk at $589 million.

US equities also fell as the selling spread beyond crypto. Losses in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite reached 0.94% and 1.51%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.61%, while the 10-Year Treasury Note Yield moved above 5% at the time of writing.

Bitcoin faces $68K risk on a break below $73K support

An earlier Tuesday market update from Wintermute drew attention to Bitcoin’s strengthening correlation with traditional financial markets. The firm noted that Bitcoin reached $81,000 last Wednesday as Oil fell and equities advanced, only to relinquish those gains by Friday when both markets changed direction.

At $73,000, Bitcoin’s 200-day moving average marks a key support level, the trading firm also noted.

“A daily close below it and the 200-day opens $68K, and we would expect the altcoins that rallied hardest after mid-September to take the brunt of that move, as they had the least basis to be up,” Wintermute wrote.

Separately, a seven-week spell above Bitcoin’s 50-week moving average ended with a weekly close below that level, which stands at approximately $75,500.

While Bitcoin remains below its 50-week average, Wintermute said its outlook remains cautious. A shift to a constructive view would require a sustained daily close above $80,000 together with a resumption of inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the firm added. Last week, those products registered net outflows of $1.28 billion, the largest weekly withdrawal since June.