Crypto Market Stumbles as Investors Brace for Inflation Test

Bitcoin trades this morning near $110,155, down almost 2% over the past 24 hours. Ether fell harder, sliding to $4,425, a loss of nearly 6%.

Other large tokens also dropped: Solana slid 7.7%, Chainlink fell more than 10%, Dogecoin lost almost 7%, Cardano dropped over 6%, and XRP and Litecoin fell by smaller margins.

Volumes remain heavy, with about $1.5 billion in bitcoin and $1.9 billion in ether traded in the pairs you provided. The decline follows last week’s remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at Jackson Hole.

He repeated that policy remains “restrictive—modestly so,” stressing that the central bank is not following a preset path. Markets read the message as confirmation that interest rates will stay high until inflation, still above the 2% target, shows steady improvement.

That inflation check comes soon. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported June personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation at 2.6% year over year. The next release arrives on August 29.

Traders already began to cut risk into that event, and the latest numbers could determine whether the Fed holds rates or signals a cut. Institutional flows added to pressure. iShares reported its spot bitcoin ETF, IBIT, saw its net asset value drop 4.36% on August 25.

That decline underscored selling pressure across both spot and derivatives markets and reduced ETF demand that has supported prices for much of the year.

Charts confirm the weakness. On the four-hour chart, bitcoin trades under the Ichimoku cloud and below key moving averages. The MACD momentum signal sits negative and the histogram keeps expanding lower.

RSI lingers in the mid-30s, a zone that often signals oversold conditions but also shows fading momentum. Bollinger Bands slope down, and the price rides the lower band, which signals sustained selling.

On the daily chart, bitcoin pulled back from a failed push at $116,000–$117,000 and now hovers just above the cloud. MACD momentum has turned lower, while RSI slipped into the high-30s.

The rising trendline marked on the chart shows possible support near $100,930. A break below $109,000 would point toward that level. A separate measure on the chart, the Global Liquidity Index (yellow line), also trends down into late August.

That decline signals tightening conditions worldwide, adding to pressure on speculative assets. The story behind the figures is one of fading liquidity. A week ago, markets surged on hopes of easier policy, pushing bitcoin and ether toward highs.

But heavy selling, combined with net outflows from ETFs and cautious positioning ahead of U.S. inflation data, has shifted momentum. Traders now face both a strong dollar environment and waning liquidity, forcing risk assets lower.

For global readers, the message is clear: crypto markets remain tied to the same forces that move bonds, stocks, and currencies. When central banks hold firm, liquidity shrinks and high-volatility assets like bitcoin and ether lose ground.

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