Bitcoin slid below $80,000 in early trading on May 13, while Ether dropped under $2,260, capping a sharp overnight sell-off across the crypto market. The move came after U.S. April CPI data printed above expectations and Federal Reserve officials issued fresh warnings about an overheating economy.
Bitcoin loses momentum after clearing the 200-day average
Bitcoin had recently moved above its 200-day moving average, but the rally failed to hold. Selling pressure accelerated and pushed the asset through the $80,000 psychological level. Ether followed the same direction, with intraday trading falling below $2,260 as weakness spread across major tokens.
The drop was fast. In a highly leveraged market, that kind of move leaves little room for traders to adjust positions, and forced deleveraging tends to hit all at once.
More than 107,000 traders liquidated in 24 hours
According to CoinGlass, 107,591 traders were liquidated across the market over the past 24 hours. Total liquidations reached $320 million, with long positions making up the large majority of the damage as bullish bets were unwound during the sell-off.
The largest single liquidation was recorded on Binance in the ETHUSDT pair, where one position worth $2.71 million was wiped out. Once Bitcoin and Ether both broke key levels, derivatives liquidations added force to the decline and turned the move into a broad deleveraging event.
Hot inflation data and Fed warnings weigh on risk assets
The macro trigger came from stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation data for April and a string of hawkish comments from Fed officials. Crypto, which had been reacting closely to shifts in monetary expectations, pulled back hard as tighter-policy fears returned. Price action, leverage and sentiment all cracked within a short window.