The cryptocurrency market has been on a decline since April 8, led by Bitcoin (BTC), with many altcoins remaining under intense selling pressure. This market volatility comes as investors await clues on interest rates ahead of the US inflation data announcement. Indeed, the critical inflation data was recently released, showing a 0.4% monthly increase and a 3.5% annual increase in US inflation for March.
US Inflation Exceeds Expectations
The inflation data for March in the US came in higher than expected. According to the released data, US inflation increased by 0.4% on a monthly basis and by 3.5% on an annual basis. Expectations were for a 0.3% monthly increase and a 3.4% annual increase in inflation.
Excluding volatile items such as food and energy, which are considered beyond control and typically show volatility due to external factors, the core inflation for March also rose by 0.4% on a monthly basis. Core inflation was expected to increase by 0.3% monthly. On an annual basis, core inflation increased by 3.8%, while expectations were for a 3.7% increase.
Current State of Bitcoin and Altcoins
Bitcoin started the day trading below the $70,000 threshold and dropped to $68,381 ahead of the inflation data release. At the time of writing, the largest cryptocurrency has seen some recovery, trading just above $69,000, at $69,019, marking a 2.62% decrease over the last 24 hours.
Ethereum (ETH), the largest altcoin by market value, dipped to $3,468 before the inflation data was announced. At the time of writing, ETH is priced just above the $3,500 threshold.
According to CoinMarketCap’s list of the day’s top gaining altcoins, Nervos Network (CKB) leads with a 13.53% increase, trading at $0.0374, followed by Bittensor (TAO), which is up 6.73%, trading at $615.79. Ethena (ENA) holds the third spot with a 6.03% rise, trading at $1.36.
On the other hand, the list of the day’s biggest losing altcoins is led by Gala (GALA), which has fallen 12.82%, trading at $0.05861. GALA is followed by dogwifhat (WIF) and Aptos (APT), which have decreased by 12.58% and 12.48%, trading at $3.48 and $12.18, respectively.
