Bitcoin Falls Below $80,000 After Hot CPI and PPI: ~$950M Liquidated

Short answer: On Thursday, October 15, 2026, bitcoin briefly fell below $80,000 for the first time since mid-September, with an intraday low near $79,700 on some venues. The trigger was a one-two inflation punch: US September CPI came in at 3.7% a day earlier, and September PPI jumped to 6.3% year over year, well above forecasts. A rout in Asian chipmakers and weak tech stocks added to the pressure. Roughly $930–950 million in crypto positions were liquidated in 24 hours, about 90% of them longs, before BTC recovered to around $82,000.

Why did bitcoin fall below $80,000 on October 15?

The slide started on Wednesday, October 14, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that consumer prices rose 3.7% year over year in September, up from 3.4% in August and above the roughly 3.6% consensus. Core CPI, which strips out food and energy, rose 2.6% against about 2.5% expected. According to Investing.com, gasoline prices up 9.1% were a major driver, and Decrypt notes that Brent crude was trading near $104 a barrel amid the US-Iran conflict.

Thursday's producer price report then made things worse. Headline PPI rose 6.3% over twelve months, against forecasts that outlets put between 5.3% and 5.5%, and core PPI reached 5.0% versus about 4.4% expected. Cointelegraph described it as the largest 12-month increase since December 2022. Producer prices tend to feed into consumer prices later, so the market read the report as a sign that inflation is not finished.

The macro shock landed on an already nervous tech complex. South Korea's Kospi fell about 8% in the morning session and, per Cointelegraph, closed 7.5% lower, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix each down more than 9%, The Block reported. Japan's Nikkei lost over 5%, and Nasdaq futures were down about 1%. Investing.com put bitcoin's 30-day correlation with the Nasdaq at 0.78, so when AI and chip stocks sold off, BTC went with them.

How low did bitcoin go and how much was liquidated?

Price data differ by exchange and time window. Decrypt's technical analysis puts the intraday low at about $79,711, while Cointelegraph described the move simply as a break below $80,000 to the lowest level since September 18. Bitcoin then rebounded to around $82,000 within hours; FXStreet and Decrypt both reported the bounce. Even so, BTC remained roughly 7% below its October high of about $87,300, which it hit around the weak jobs report covered in our earlier piece on bitcoin's rejection at $87,000.

The damage in derivatives was much larger than on October 2. CoinGlass data cited by Decrypt show $948 million liquidated across about 177,000 traders, with $859 million (90.6%) coming from longs. The Block counted $951 million, FXStreet about $930 million. Interestingly, Ethereum positions accounted for more liquidations (about $282 million) than bitcoin (just over $200 million), and ether fell 6.5% to around $2,350. The single largest liquidation was a $12 million BTC long on Binance.

Key facts

All numbers are approximate and depend on the data provider and the time of the snapshot.

Why does inflation data hit bitcoin so hard right now?

In 2026 the debate is no longer about how fast the Federal Reserve cuts but whether it hikes. Higher rates make cash and bonds more attractive and raise the cost of the leverage that fuels crypto rallies. After CPI, CME FedWatch showed the probability of a rate hike at the October 27–28 meeting rising to about 30%, according to Investing.com, with a hike by year-end seen as very likely. Zeus Research told The Block that the 3.7% inflation print revived fears of rates staying higher for longer.

ETF demand is the second factor. Spot bitcoin ETFs saw about $681 million in net outflows the previous week, and Decrypt estimates the average ETF holder's cost basis at around $82,300. When the price drops below that level, some of those holders are under water, which can add selling pressure or, if dip buyers step in, turn the zone into support. The September pattern is similar to the one we covered in September's ETF outflows and the later recovery back above $80,000.

Third, leverage had rebuilt quickly. When roughly nine out of ten liquidated positions are longs, it means many traders were betting on further gains with borrowed money. Laevitas analyst Rick Maeda told The Block that leverage now looks largely flushed out, and the open question is whether genuine spot buying returns.

What levels and dates are traders watching?

Analysts cited by Cointelegraph and Decrypt point to support around $78,000, where the 50-week moving average and several trend lines sit, and then to the $75,000–76,000 area. On the upside, the $82,300–82,800 zone (ETF cost basis and former support) is the first test, followed by about $84,000 and the October high near $87,300. The next macro catalysts are the Fed decision on October 28, core PCE inflation the following day and the October jobs report on November 6.

What should a crypto user do during a drop like this? A checklist

1. Don't confuse spot with leverage. Coins you hold in your own wallet cannot be liquidated; only borrowed positions can. If you are not trading derivatives, a cascade like this one is a price move, not a forced sale. Our explainer on how liquidations work covers the mechanics.
2. Avoid swapping in the first minutes after the data. Spreads widen and rates move fast right after CPI or PPI releases (8:30 a.m. New York time). If a swap can wait an hour, the quote is usually tighter.
3. Lock the rate if timing matters. On fast days, a floating rate can drift while your deposit confirms. Choose a fixed rate where available and check how long the exchanger holds it.
4. Moving to stablecoins? Watch the network fee. Fees vary a lot between USDT on Tron, Ethereum and BNB Chain; see our guide to USDT network fees before choosing one.
5. Compare before you swap. The exchangers list on changerella.com shows live rates and reserves from many services, and Changerella App lets you swap between coins without an account, sending the result directly to your own wallet. Check the service first with our guide on how to vet a crypto exchanger.

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