As the U.S. producer price index (PPI) surged and the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate cut fell, interest rate–sensitive crypto assets are also plunging.

As of 8:06 a.m. on the 19th, on CoinMarketCap, a global coin market tracker, Bitcoin was down 4.28% from 24 hours earlier at $71,165. Ethereum, the No. 2 by market cap, was tumbling 5.87% to $2,194. Ripple, No. 4 by market cap, was plunging 4.33% to $1.46, while Binance Coin, No. 5 by market cap, was down 2.92% at $651.

At Bithumb Lounge Gangnam Main Branch in Seocho-gu, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, a coin price chart reflects on the floor where a Bitcoin model is placed. /Courtesy of News1

This is because the PPI has jumped recently. In the previous month, the PPI rose 0.7% from the month before. That more than doubled the Dow Jones estimate of 0.3%. With tariff hikes, prices of metals and raw materials as well as manufacturing expenses all increased, which appears to have driven the sharp rise in the PPI.

In this situation, with a U.S.-Iran war breaking out, U.S. inflation likely climbed significantly.

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