Hotter-than-expected U.S. PPI inflation data reduced expectations for near-term Fed rate cuts.
The crypto market has continued its freefall led by Bitcoin’s retreat back to the $63,000 mark. The coin had maintained a position above $67,000 for the most part of the week but as since continued its downtrend from Friday trading. Altcoins have also posted losses following BTC’s trajectory.
Crypto Market Falls on Amid U.S.-Iran War Tensions
The market has experienced a sharp decline in value after the news of the strike by the US and Israeli missiles in Iran emerged. This has caused global uncertainty, resulting in an immediate sell-off in the market. The total market cap has decreased to $2.21 trillion, down by 5.49% in the past 24 hours.
The price of Bitcoin declined to $63,000, down by 5% in the past 24 hours. Also, Ethereum declined to $1,800, down by 8% in the past 24 hours. Also, the price of XRP declined by 7% and Solana by almost 10%.
The crypto market reaction was attributed to the coordinated strikes by the United States and Isreal on Iran. President Donald Trump siad in a video message that the US had undertaken a “massive and ongoing” operation against the Islamic Republic. He promised that Tehran would not acquire a nuclear weapon.
Trump had developed a massive US military presence in the region in an effort to coerce the country into concessions in the U.S Iran negotiations on its nuclear program.
“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” he added.
The US military initially launched a series of strikes against Iranian targets. The scale of the operation is still not clear but the operation is expected to last several days. This could futher disrupt the crypto market.
Policy Uncertainty Holds Sentiment at Extreme Fear
The economic changes in the United States has put a damper on the hopes of another crypto market rally. The PPI data in January 2026 was hotter than economists were expecting, and that impacts the interest rate environment.
When inflation runs hot, the Fed has less room to cut interest rates. As such, expectations of rate cuts have been pushed even further out. As such, the US dollar rallied on the data, and the rate-sensitive markets, including the crypto market, have been negatively impacted by the higher yields.
Generally speaking, falling interest rates provide liquidity to the markets and boost risk appetite. However, with expectations of rate cuts being pushed out, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index has fallen back into extreme fear territory.
