The crypto market lost 3.63% in a day, with Ethereum and altcoins falling harder than Bitcoin. Long traders absorbed more than 90% of the $953 million in liquidations. The selloff started bef
The crypto market extended its losses on Thursday, October 15, with total capitalization down 3.63%, roughly $100 billion, to $2.7 trillion and Bitcoin trading near $80,767, just above the $80,000 support that has held since mid-September. Leveraged buyers paid most of the bill. $953.55 million in positions were liquidated over 24 hours, and $876.36 million of that came from longs. The decline was underway before the US producer price report, but the data offered no relief: September PPI rose 6.3% year-over-year against estimates near 5.4%, a day after consumer inflation also beat forecasts.
Bitcoin is down 2.46% on the day and less than 2% for the week. Ethereum lost 5.18% to $2,352.66 and more than 7% over seven days. Solana trades near $100 after a 9.64% weekly drop, and Zcash fell 12.21%, the worst result in the top ten.
Selling usually hits the most volatile assets first, and altcoin order books are thinner, so the same volume of sell orders moves their prices further. Tether and USDC held their pegs and their market caps barely changed, which points to traders cutting risk inside crypto rather than pulling money out of the sector.
More than 90% of liquidations hit longs, traders who had borrowed to bet on a bounce. Once the price crosses their margin threshold, the exchange closes the position with a market sell, which pushes the price toward the next cluster of stops. Ethereum led with $287.8 million, ahead of Bitcoin’s $194.67 million, even though ETH is worth roughly a sixth of BTC by market value. That leverage gap explains why ETH fell harder. Silver, gold and leveraged chip-stock products also appear among long liquidations, so the deleveraging reached beyond crypto.
24h liquidations$953.55M Longs $876.36M (91.9%)Shorts $77.19M ETH$287.80M BTC$194.67M SOL$30.98M ZEC$20.53MBitcoin’s weakness began on October 7, when it fell from about $86,000 to a low near $80,350 the next day. Two rebounds to $84,000 failed this week. Selling picked up again on October 14 after the September CPI report came in hot. The PPI release at 8:30 a.m. ET landed on a market that was already falling.
Final demand PPI rose 1.3% month-over-month against a 0.6% forecast. The core gauge, which excludes food, energy and trade services, rose 0.5% versus 0.3% expected. The annual rate is the highest of the year, above May’s 5.9%. Energy has driven the trend: in August, diesel prices for producers jumped 24.1% in one month, and AAA data put the average US gasoline price at $4.33 in September, against $3.16 a year earlier.
September PPI beat every estimate Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Final demand, y/y 6.3% Forecast: 5.4% +0.9 pts above Final demand, m/m 1.3% Forecast: 0.6% More than double Core, m/m 0.5% Forecast: 0.3% Ex food, energy, tradeProducer costs tend to reach consumer prices within months. Several PPI components, such as airfares, medical services and portfolio management fees, also feed directly into the PCE index the Fed targets, so this week’s two reports push PCE estimates higher. The Fed’s September projections already put 2026 PCE inflation at 3.7%. Before the data, MUFG said a firm core CPI could lift the odds of an October rate hike toward 30%. Higher expected rates increase the return on Treasury bills, which pay a yield Bitcoin does not, and make the borrowing behind leveraged trades more expensive.
On the four-hour BTC chart, Bitcoin has ranged between $80,000 and $87,000 since mid-September. Buyers defended the floor near $80,100 on September 20 and near $80,350 on October 8. Today’s low reached about $80,200 before the price recovered toward $80,900. Each defense shows demand is still there, but every retest uses some of it up. A clear four-hour close below $80,000 would break the range, with little chart support before the high $70,000s.
BTC/USDT 4h chart. Source: TradingView
The RSI sits at 36. Sellers have controlled recent sessions, yet the reading is above 30, where markets are typically seen as oversold, and below its own average of 44, so momentum has not turned. Rebounds face $83,200 to $84,000 first.
BTC price map $87,000Range high, rejected three times $83,200 to $84,000Capped both rebounds this week $80,767 Current price $80,000Range floor, third test High $70,000sNext visible supportToday’s liquidations removed much of the leverage that could fuel another cascade of this size, though that alone does not bring buyers back. Funding rates on perpetual futures, the periodic payments between long and short traders, will show whether traders start rebuilding bullish bets. September import prices arrive on October 16, followed by the PCE report ahead of the Fed’s October 28 rate decision. Bitcoin holding $80,000 through those releases is the first condition for the September range to survive.
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