On August 14, 2024, investors and institutions were looking ahead to the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, which came in below expectations. According to the recent report, the U.S. CPI came in at 2.9%, below the expected 3%, marking its lowest point since April 2021.
Why is the cryptocurrency market in free fall?
Following the CPI data, the overall cryptocurrency market turned green and major assets rose significantly, although they are now experiencing slight selling pressure.
After a significant price rally, market makers took advantage of the CPI data, with major assets including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL) seeing impressive price gains of 4.3%, 4.5%, and 3.7%. However, this created a slight selling pressure in the market.
Market makers are those who often take advantage of major macroeconomic events to liquidate traders.
Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Evolution
At press time, BTC is trading near the $59,900 level and has seen a 2.3% price drop in the last hour. In the meantime, it has reached the $61,680 level in the same period. However, it is currently up 1% in the last 24 hours.
On the other hand, ETH is trading near the $2,660 level and has seen a price decline of over 2.7% in the last hour. It has also reached a high of $2,775 during the same period.
Major liquidation following CPI release
Amidst this significant fluctuation and volatility, BTC traders have liquidated over $14.81 million worth of short and long positions over the past few hours. In contrast, ETH traders have liquidated a massive $15.3 million worth of short and long positions over the same period, according to data from on-chain analytics firm CoinGlass.
The intraday high of these flagship assets was observed after the release of CPI data. Since then, the market has been under selling pressure. However, there is hope that this slight selling pressure is only short-lived and the market will recover quickly.
