- Bitcoin dropped 4% to $83,736 on Friday, while other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and XRP saw steeper declines of 6% and 7% respectively.
- Crypto liquidations surged to over $450 million in 24 hours, with long positions accounting for $402 million of the total.
- The cryptocurrency sell-off coincided with broader market declines as inflation data came in higher than expected, with the PCE Price Index rising 0.4% in February.
Cryptocurrency markets tumbled Friday as investors reacted to concerning inflation data, pushing Bitcoin and other major digital assets to their lowest levels in at least a week. The crypto sell-off mirrors similar declines in traditional equity markets, with traders growing increasingly nervous about persistent inflation and potential impacts from proposed trade tariffs.
Bitcoin fell to $83,609 early Friday afternoon before slightly recovering to $83,736, marking a 4% decline for the day. Despite the sharp daily drop, the leading cryptocurrency remains relatively stable on a weekly basis, down just 0.4% over the past seven days. This decline effectively halted the momentum Bitcoin had been building in recent sessions.
Altcoins experienced even more significant losses, with Ethereum sliding 6% to $1,875 and XRP dropping approximately 7% to $2.17. Both cryptocurrencies reached their lowest points in a week. Similarly, Solana and Dogecoin declined 6% and 4.5% respectively over 24 hours, though both assets remain in positive territory when measured across the week.
The market downturn triggered a wave of forced liquidations, with data from CoinGlass showing over $450 million in crypto positions liquidated in a 24-hour period. Long positions—bets that prices would rise—accounted for $402 million of these liquidations. Ethereum-related products led the liquidation figures at $136 million, followed by Bitcoin at $118 million.
The cryptocurrency decline mirrored broader financial market turbulence, with both the Dow and S&P 500 indices falling more than 2% on Friday. Investors reacted negatively to the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE) report, which showed a 0.4% increase in February—the largest monthly jump in over a year and higher than market expectations. This data, combined with uncertainty surrounding potential trade tariffs, contributed to the risk-off sentiment.
“Today’s price action shows that investors are not ready for a long-term tariff engagement by the U.S.,” said Mark Connors, chief investment strategist for Bitcoin investment advisory Risk Dimensions. “Portfolio managers are taking risk off the table to fight another day, until the impact of tariffs have greater clarity.”
While technology giant NVIDIA saw its stock price drop about 1.5%, and Nvidia-backed cloud computing company CoreWeave—which debuted on public markets Friday—declined approximately 1%, cryptocurrency-focused stocks experienced substantially heavier losses. Strategy (MSTR) shares plummeted nearly 10%, while Coinbase stock fell by almost 7%.
Connors also highlighted concerns about economic growth projections from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, noting: “So today’s move validates what Atlanta Fed GDPNow forecast has versus what the Street has. That, to me, is the real signal out of today.”
The synchronized decline across both traditional and cryptocurrency markets underscores the growing correlation between digital assets and conventional financial markets, particularly during periods of economic uncertainty and inflation concerns.
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