Crypto Markets Slide as Traders Weigh Inflation Data, Trump Trade Moves

Cryptocurrency markets fell Tuesday, July 15, as investors weighed fresh U.S. core Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation data, while also digesting new trade measures from President Donald Trump.

Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading at $116,400, down 3% on the day. This drop follows a week-long rally that saw BTC set a new all-time high of $122,800 on Monday, July 14.

Ethereum (ETH), on the other hand, is mostly flat today, dropping less than 1% and continuing to trade above the $3,000 mark. Meanwhile, XRP and Solana (SOL) are both down about 2% to trade at $2.89 and $159, respectively.

Total crypto market capitalization fell over 6% in the past 24 hours to approximately $3.74 trillion, according to CoinGecko. Trading volume over the same period reached $216 billion.

Liquidations and ETFs

Meanwhile, more than $535 million in crypto liquidations were recorded over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data. The bulk came from long positions, which accounted for $412 million. BTC led with nearly $186 million in liquidations, followed by ETH at approximately $127 million.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $297 million in inflows on July 14, according to SoSoValue, following two trading days of inflows above $1 billion . Spot Ethereum ETFs saw smaller but still notable inflows of $259 million. Yesterday marked the eighth consecutive day of net inflows for both.

Core CPI data

The recent market moves reflect investor caution amid uncertain U.S. inflation data and shifting risk appetite across crypto and traditional markets, experts said.

Core CPI, released on Tuesday morning, showed that in June, prices for everyday goods and services, excluding food and energy, went up by 0.2% compared to the previous month. Over the past year, these prices rose 2.9%, matching what experts expected.

Elsewhere, car prices dropped in June, Bloomberg reported, which helped keep overall inflation low. But prices for other items that are affected by tariffs — such as furniture, appliances, and clothes — started to go up, suggesting that tariffs are beginning to push prices higher.

Experts say that because inflation was a bit weaker than expected, the Federal Reserve might consider lowering interest rates soon. But they are still unsure, since tariffs could cause lasting price changes.

The Fed Vs. Trump

Meanwhile, President Trump earlier today called for the Fed to lower interest rates on his social media platform, Truth Social, in a new post. “Consumer Prices LOW. Bring down the Fed Rate, NOW!!!” Trump wrote.

President Trump has been urging the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates and for Chair Jerome Powell to step down for months. However, the Fed has held off on rate cuts, wanting to first assess how Trump’s tariffs impact inflation.

The comments by President Trump come shortly after news broke that the U.S. struck a trade deal with Indonesia early Tuesday morning. “Great deal, for everybody, just made with Indonesia. I dealt directly with their highly respected President,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “DETAILS TO FOLLOW!!!”

The Indonesia deal is the latest in a string of trade agreements announced by President Trump in recent weeks. Most recently, he revealed a trade deal with Vietnam via Truth Social.