Bitcoin and major cryptocurrencies extended their decline on Thursday, as hotter U.S. inflation, renewed uncertainty over Federal Reserve interest rates and a broad retreat from risk assets triggered heavy selling and nearly $1 billion in cryptocurrency liquidations.
Bitcoin traded at $80,925.52, down 2.83 percent over the previous 24 hours and 2.13 percent over seven days. Its market capitalization fell to approximately $1.62 trillion, while 24-hour trading volume stood at $41.84 billion.
Ethereum suffered significantly heavier losses, falling 5.52 percent to $2,359.78. Ether was down 7.65 percent over seven days, with market capitalization at approximately $288.27 billion and daily trading volume of $18.81 billion.
The decline extended across other large cryptocurrencies. BNB fell 3.13 percent to $718.28, XRP declined about 4.33 percent to $1.30 and Solana lost 4.45 percent to $101.87. Zcash was among the steepest decliners, dropping more than 12 percent.
Selling accelerated alongside a broader global risk-off move that hit Asian and U.S. technology shares after September inflation data revived concerns that U.S. interest rates could remain elevated for longer.
Market value declines
The global cryptocurrency market capitalization fell to approximately $2.71 trillion, a decline of about 3.26 percent over 24 hours, as losses extended beyond Bitcoin into Ether and a broad range of altcoins.
Total cryptocurrency trading volume increased to approximately $105.95 billion, reflecting heavier activity as investors reduced positions during the downturn. Bitcoin continued to represent the majority of the market, with dominance of 60.09 percent, up about 0.25 percentage points over the day.
That increase in dominance reflected Bitcoin’s relative resilience compared with many alternative cryptocurrencies.
Ethereum’s 5.52 percent daily decline was almost twice Bitcoin’s loss, while Solana fell 4.45 percent and Chainlink declined about 6.9 percent. Cardano traded near $0.221, down around 5.6 percent over 24 hours.
CoinMarketCap’s Fear & Greed Index stood at 49, placing sentiment in neutral territory despite the sharp decline, while its Altcoin Season Index also registered 49.
The readings suggest that the latest selloff had not pushed broad sentiment into extreme fear even as leveraged positions were being unwound rapidly.
Bitcoin’s market value remained around $1.62 trillion, giving it more than twice Ethereum’s roughly $288 billion capitalization and leaving the two assets together responsible for more than 70 percent of total cryptocurrency market value.
The market decline coincided with heavy selling in global technology shares. The Block reported Bitcoin below $81,000 as Asian equities fell sharply, describing the move as part of a wider retreat from risk assets rather than a crypto-specific shock.
Liquidations accelerate sharply
Leverage amplified the cryptocurrency selloff as falling prices forced traders to close billions of dollars in leveraged exposures across derivatives markets.
CoinMarketCap showed approximately $1.01 billion in cryptocurrency liquidations over 24 hours, with long positions accounting for the overwhelming majority of the forced closures.
The Block, citing CoinGlass, put total liquidations at $951.4 million, including approximately $876.3 million in long positions, underscoring the extent to which traders positioned for rising prices were caught by the market reversal.
CoinDesk separately identified $483 million in Bitcoin and Ether futures liquidations alone during the previous 24 hours.
Ether traders absorbed the heavier share of that total, with approximately $286 million in liquidated positions, representing close to 60 percent of the combined Bitcoin-Ether figure.
The forced selling helps explain why Ether’s decline was substantially larger than Bitcoin’s.
Leverage can accelerate market movements because exchanges automatically close positions when collateral falls below required levels. A falling market can therefore trigger forced selling, which places additional downward pressure on prices and causes further positions to reach liquidation thresholds.
The latest liquidation wave followed Wednesday’s initial decline below $82,000 after U.S. inflation data changed expectations for Federal Reserve policy.
The Block reported that analysts viewed the $80,000-$82,000 area as an important near-term range for Bitcoin, with a decisive break below $80,000 potentially exposing lower technical support.
Altcoins deepen losses
Selling remained considerably heavier across many alternative cryptocurrencies, reinforcing Bitcoin’s rising share of total market capitalization.
XRP traded around $1.30, losing more than 4 percent over 24 hours and extending its seven-day decline to around 7 percent. Solana fell to approximately $101.87, down 4.45 percent daily and more than 11 percent over the week.
BNB declined to around $718, while TRON proved more resilient at approximately $0.3315, falling less than 1 percent over 24 hours. Hyperliquid traded near $79.57 after losing more than 2 percent.
Zcash suffered one of the market’s largest declines, dropping more than 12 percent to roughly $1,086, while Dogecoin traded near $0.080 after falling almost 5 percent. Monero held around $538 with a comparatively smaller decline of roughly 2.8 percent.
Chainlink fell below $12 during parts of the session, while Cardano traded near $0.221. Stellar remained around $0.18, NEAR Protocol near $4.60 and Bitcoin Cash around $263.
Pressure also extended to smaller tokens. Litecoin traded near $58, Uniswap near $6.90 and Avalanche around $9.50, while Sui remained below $1.
Bittensor traded near $260, Shiba Inu remained close to $0.000005 and Cronos around $0.056. Ethena, OKB and Hedera also declined, extending a broad retreat across both large-cap and mid-cap tokens.
UNUS SED LEO was one of the more resilient major assets, holding around $9 as most of the market moved lower.
The breadth of the decline indicates that investors were reducing overall crypto risk rather than rotating significantly from one group of tokens into another.
Stablecoins remain steady
Stablecoins continued to trade close to their intended dollar pegs despite elevated volatility elsewhere in cryptocurrency markets.
Tether remained near $1, with market capitalization around $183.8 billion, making it the third-largest cryptocurrency behind Bitcoin and Ethereum. Its 24-hour trading volume exceeded $87 billion, reflecting its central role as a trading and settlement asset across cryptocurrency exchanges.
USDC also remained close to $1, with market capitalization of approximately $72.7 billion and trading volume above $20 billion.
Dai, Ethena USDe, World Liberty Financial USD1, Global Dollar, PayPal USD and Ripple USD similarly traded close to their respective dollar pegs.
The relative stability of the major dollar-linked tokens contrasted with losses of more than 5 percent across several large cryptocurrencies.
Tokenized precious-metals products also remained supported by the broader rebound in physical gold. Tether Gold traded around $4,145 while PAX Gold was near $4,151 as bullion recovered following the previous session’s decline.
The stability of dollar-pegged assets during periods of falling cryptocurrency prices provides traders with a mechanism for reducing market exposure without necessarily moving funds back into traditional banking systems.
High stablecoin volume can therefore increase during periods of market stress as investors rotate away from volatile tokens.
The current downturn has so far remained concentrated in market-priced cryptocurrencies rather than producing a widespread disruption in the major stablecoin sector.
Fed uncertainty weighs
The broader catalyst for the decline remains the shift in U.S. interest-rate expectations following stronger September inflation.
The U.S. Consumer Price Index increased 0.6 percent in September and 3.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics September CPI report. Core inflation excluding food and energy rose 0.3 percent during the month and 2.6 percent annually.
Gasoline prices surged 9.1 percent and accounted for more than half of the monthly headline CPI increase.
Bitcoin fell below $82,000 shortly after the inflation report as traders reassessed the possibility of additional Federal Reserve tightening. The Block said higher rates remain a particular headwind for digital assets because elevated Treasury yields increase the attractiveness of lower-risk alternatives while making speculative assets less appealing.
Immediate expectations for an October hike subsequently eased after Federal Reserve officials signaled that they could wait for additional economic data.
San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said further increases would probably be necessary but there was no urgency to move at the October meeting, while the dollar retreated from an 18-month high and the 10-year Treasury yield fell toward 5.09 percent.
The Fed’s next policy meeting is scheduled for October 27-28, leaving crypto markets exposed to incoming inflation, consumer-spending and labor-market data as investors reassess the path of U.S. borrowing costs.
