NEW YORK, United States / CryptoWire.AI / – Bitcoin fell below $74,000 on Tuesday, November 10, after hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data hit investor sentiment and raised fears of higher interest rates. By early evening, Bitcoin was down 1.83% at $73,874.38. Ether dropped 3.43% to $2,059.16 and Solana lost 3.69% to $83.37. The broad sell-off reflected weaker appetite for risk as traders reassessed the outlook for Federal Reserve policy.
The October Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% from September, above the 0.3% economists had expected. Core prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.3% against forecasts of 0.2%. It was the third straight month of 0.3% core inflation. Shelter costs accounted for more than 30% of the increase. Bitcoin had traded near $74,200 before the release and dipped to about $73,500 within minutes. About $178 million of long positions were liquidated within an hour, Decrypt reported.
The inflation surprise triggered a sharp sell-off in U.S. government bonds and pushed Treasury yields higher. The 10-year yield rose about 9 basis points shortly after the data, moving closer to 5%. The two-year yield, which is more sensitive to policy, posted its biggest increase since April 2025. Higher yields make fixed-income investments more attractive than speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies. The U.S. dollar also strengthened, tightening global financial conditions.
Rate hike bets rise after CPI
Markets now expect the Federal Reserve to raise rates again at its December 8–9 meeting. The central bank’s target range stands at 3.75% to 4.00%. Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on Tuesday that a 50 basis point hike should be considered in December. Traders lifted the odds of a half-point move to nearly 15%, Reuters reported. Rising yields, a firmer dollar and tighter policy expectations are creating a difficult backdrop for digital assets.
Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds also traded lower. The iShares Bitcoin Trust fell 1.51% and the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund slipped 1.49%. Spot Ether funds weakened too, with the iShares Ethereum Trust down 3.27%. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded about $1.5 billion in net outflows since November 2. Most of last week’s withdrawals came from BlackRock’s fund. The total includes roughly $1.28 billion in the week to November 6 and about $201 million on Monday.
Altcoins face a tougher outlook
Bitcoin’s struggle to hold $74,000 after several weeks of losses has raised questions about underlying demand. Analysts at Bitfinex said the earlier rally toward $80,000 was driven mainly by leveraged futures, while spot buying stayed weak. Matt Mena of 21Shares said $73,000 is a key level and a sustained break could send Bitcoin toward $69,000. Ether is nearing the $2,000 mark, while Solana is testing support near $80.
Other large tokens also lost ground. XRP fell 2.9% to $1.06 and is down 17% over seven days, according to CoinGecko data. Zcash dropped 9.4% to $1,055.91. Tron was among the few gainers, edging up 0.4%. Investors will now watch whether Bitcoin can reclaim $75,000 and whether institutional flows begin to stabilize. October producer price data is due on November 13, followed by minutes of the Fed’s latest meeting on November 18.