Bitcoin wipes $15 billion from market cap in 10 mins as U.S. inflation data runs hot

On July 12, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) stabilized into a steady holding pattern ahead of the release of U.S. inflation data, which ultimately injected further downwards volatility.

Indeed, news that inflation in the United States exceeded 9.1%, the highest level since November 1981, according to the new CPI report for June, only caused a further downward trend in Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market.

Currently, Bitcoin is trading at $19,180, down 3.45% on the day and a further 4.70% in the last week, with a total market worth of $366 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Notably, the flagship digital asset lost $15 billion from its market capitalization in the space of around ten mins as it fell from $379.91 billion to $364.55 billion upon news emerged with the negative CPI report for June.

Tension was in the air for the CPI report

As the time counted down to the release of the inflation statistics, investors drew a collective deep breath, and the global markets remained tranquil, but as many prominent crypto trading analysts had hinted at the start of the week an announcement, positive or negative, would be said to impact the digital assets price significantly.

The data on inflation, which came in far higher than anticipated, will put even more pressure on the Federal Reserve of the United States to raise interest rates. 

Bitcoin, along with other risk assets, has suffered a significant loss of value this year, falling by about 72%, since it has failed so far to serve as an inflation hedge. Bitcoin, which has always existed in an environment with low-interest rates, has been hammered by the Fed’s monetary policy, along with other risk assets.

Strong employment data that was released last week sent a signal that the Federal Reserve would be able to pull off a soft landing, thereby averting a recession despite substantially increasing interest rates. This was the case despite the fact that interest rates have been rising rapidly.

Meanwhile, after reaching a low of $17,600 in June, the general view among investors was that Bitcoin would still be anticipated to see another sell-off in the near future.

Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.