Bitcoin Falls Below $81,000 as Hot U.S. CPI Revives Fed Hike Bets

Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $81,000 in Asian trading Thursday as hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation shifted markets toward pricing in a possible Federal Reserve rate increase.

U.S. consumer prices rose 3.7% in the 12 months through September, up from 3.4% in August. The monthly increase was 0.6%. Gasoline prices climbed 9.1% during the month, accounting for more than half of that gain. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose 2.6% year over year.

The report was released Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. ET (12:30 UTC) and exceeded the 3.6% forecast. Markets moved toward pricing in a possible rate increase at the Federal Reserve’s Oct. 27-28 meeting, though estimates of the odds varied by snapshot.

Crypto liquidations neared $1 billion over a rolling 24-hour period. Long positions, or bets on rising prices, made up most of the total. Ether (ETH) was down more than 6% over the same 24-hour period.

Asian equities slid Thursday. South Korea’s Kospi fell 8%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 5.2%.