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Bitcoin price fell below $74,000 on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, after new US inflation figures came in higher than economists expected.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report raised concerns about another interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve in December, putting pressure on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as investors reacted to the news.
According to CoinMarketCap (at 14:51 UTC on November 10), Bitcoin price fell, currently trading for $73,734 at the time of reporting, down 1.19% over the past 24 hours. This pulled the market capitalization down by 1.19% to approximately $1.48 trillion, while daily trading volume fell 19.67% to $22.44 billion.
The altcoins market dropped by an average of 2%. Ethereum dropped 2.28% to $2,066, while XRP fell 2.82% to $1.06. Solana also declined 2.92% to approximately $84.09. Zcash recorded a larger loss of 3.45%, trading at $1,172.82, according to CoinMarketCap.
In fact, data from CoinMarketCap also show that the overall crypto market was affected, losing 1.07% of its total value to reach approximately $2.46 trillion with the Crypto Fear and Greed Index holding at 26, showing that fear had spread among market participants.
U.S. Inflation Comes in Higher Than Expected
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index, which measures changes in the prices of goods and services, increased by 0.4% in October. Although this was lower than September’s 0.6% increase, it was still above economists’ expectations of 0.3%.
Core CPI, which removes food and energy prices because they can change quickly, also increased by 0.3%. This matched September’s reading but was higher than the 0.2% economists had expected.
The figures showed that inflation was still not falling as quickly as expected. This matters to financial markets because the Federal Reserve has been working to bring inflation down to its 2% target.
When inflation remains high, the central bank may keep interest rates high or increase them further to slow down spending and borrowing.
Waller Raises Concerns About Another Rate Hike
The inflation figures also came as Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller called on policymakers to follow through with expected interest rate increases.
Speaking to an audience in London, Waller said he was leaning toward another rate hike in December, even if October inflation had come in below expectations. However, he suggested that the Fed might need to take stronger action if inflation turned out to be higher than forecast.
Waller said he could support a 50-basis-point increase, which means raising interest rates by 0.5 percentage points, if inflation remained too high. He also warned that choosing a smaller 25-basis-point increase in that situation could put the Federal Reserve’s credibility at risk.
His concern was that financial markets had already expected more rate increases based on the Fed’s earlier statements. If policymakers failed to deliver those increases, investors could quickly change their expectations, causing interest rates to fall.
For Bitcoin, this creates another challenge. Higher interest rates can make traditional investments more attractive and reduce the amount of money investors are willing to put into riskier assets such as cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin Traders Lose Millions as Positions Are Liquidated
The market decline also affected traders using borrowed money to bet on Bitcoin’s price direction. According to data from Coinglass (at 14:51 UTC on November 10), approximately $55.60 million worth of crypto positions were liquidated within four hours of the CPI release.
Long traders, who had expected prices to rise, suffered most of the losses, with approximately $53.98 million liquidated. Short traders, who were betting on lower prices, lost around $1.62 million during the same period.
This adds up to a much larger figure over the last 24 hours with the total crypto liquidations reaching approximately $86.91 million. Long positions accounted for $71.64 million, while short positions recorded $15.27 million.
Traders Share Different Views on Bitcoin’s Next Move
Despite the decline, some crypto traders believe Bitcoin could recover if it holds important price levels.
Crypto trader Kaz suggested that Bitcoin could first move below $73,400, a level he identified as the previous week’s low, before recovering. He believes such a move could trap traders betting against Bitcoin and help establish a local price bottom.
In another post, Kaz suggested that Bitcoin could find a bottom around $72,000 within the next five to six days before starting another upward move toward $90,000. He also pointed to visible spot market participation while traders in perpetual futures were selling.
Crypto trader Wealthmanager also shared a similar view, saying Bitcoin had barely moved despite the hotter-than-expected inflation figures. The trader expects a possible bounce as long as Bitcoin stays above $73,000, warning traders against opening short positions near that level.
Meanwhile, Tranquility Crypto pointed to Bitcoin’s reaction to previous inflation reports, noting that all five of the last five CPI releases had been followed by a rally. The trader suggested that Bitcoin could surprise investors who were expecting another decline.
These views are just individual market expectations, while Bitcoin continues to react to inflation data and expectations about the Federal Reserve’s December decision.
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