Bitcoin and major altcoins fell on Thursday after hotter-than-expected U.S. producer inflation data reignited fears that the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates at its September 15-16 meeting. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported annual PPI at 5.4%, above the 5.3% forecast, while core PPI climbed to 4.6%. Month-on-month headline PPI rose 0.4%, in line with estimates, and core PPI increased 0.2% after a 0.3% decline previously.
Following the data, CME FedWatch showed traders pricing a 74% probability of a rate hike to a 3.75%–4.00% target range. Bitcoin dropped nearly 2% to below $77,000, trading around $77,300 and sitting less than $800 above key support at $76,270, according to Bitget analysts. The CoinDesk 20 index fell around 3%, with 95 of the CoinDesk 100 tokens ending lower.
XRP slid roughly 3%–4.6% to around $1.34–$1.36, with long liquidations wiping out $13.66 million in bullish bets. Notably, spot XRP ETFs had recorded $12.29 million in inflows a day before the sell-off, pointing to underlying demand despite the pullback. Solana broke below $100, losing more than 3%. Ether was relatively resilient, down just under 2% to about $2,445. Dogecoin shed around 6% to 8 cents, while Hyperliquid’s HYPE fell about 7%. Zcash was the biggest major-token loser, dropping roughly 12% to near $1,134 after a strong weekly and monthly run.
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $120 million in outflows on Wednesday, more than double Tuesday’s figure, and later data indicated total net outflows of $283 million for September 10, marking three consecutive days of net outflows. Ether, XRP, and Solana funds took in money on the same day. Traditional markets also slipped: the S&P 500 closed at around 7,594, its fourth straight decline, while Asian equity futures fell. The 30-year Treasury yield hit a 19-year high, the 10-year approached 5%, the two-year moved above 4.5%, and Brent crude rose above $107 a barrel, up more than 6%.
All eyes now turn to Friday’s Consumer Price Index report, expected at 8:30 a.m. ET, with headline inflation forecast at 3.4% year-over-year and core at 2.4%. The result could either intensify or ease pressure on crypto and equity markets before the Fed meeting.
