Bitcoin Price Drops $1,000 in 3 Minutes as US CPI Inflation Overshoots

Bitcoin (BTC) crashed below $22,000 instantly on September 13 after US inflation data failed to meet estimates.

BTC/USD 1-Hour Candlestick Chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

CPI print triggers major crypto rout

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD quickly falling $1,000 after Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation for August came in at 8.3% year-on-year.

The consensus was that 8.1% would be the final figure, and the overshoot suggested that inflation was not easing at the expected pace.

Nevertheless, compared to July, year-on-year growth was still down 0.2%, maintaining the overall trend of slowing CPI inflation.

However, this was not enough to avoid a crypto rout, and at the time of writing Bitcoin was below $21,500, down 4% on the day.

Fed target rate probability chart. Source: CME Group

As market participants increased their bets on another 75 basis points and even a 100-point interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve next week, cold feet became increasingly noticeable ahead of the Wall Street open.

“A lot of volatility around these events and a lot of fake plays are happening,” Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading company Eight, black.

“Remind yourself of that and avoid excessive trading. Right now, lows have been taken and some consolidation appears to be happening.”

The strength of the US Dollar Index (DXY), traditionally a headwind for crypto, saw a setback on the CPI news, passing 109 for the first time since September 9.

US Dollar Index (DXY) 1 hour candlestick chart. Source: TradingView

Ethereum wobbles as Merge hype fades

On altcoins, pain continued for Ether (ETH) as existing weakness was compounded by Bitcoin’s fall.

Related: Bitcoin and altcoins rally, but upcoming macro events may limit gains

Despite the incoming merge event, both ETH/USD and ETH/BTC extended losses as the largest altcoin by market capitalization failed to capitalize on the surrounding hype.

“Even with the CPI print, this was always an area of ​​resistance,” popular trader Altcoin Sherpa reacted.

“Heavy interaction at this level over the last year, it’s still an area to watch out for.”

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