Bitcoin price slipped below $81,000 on October 15, 2026, down roughly 3.2% over the prior 24 hours as investors digested the latest U.S. inflation figures, which accelerated selling pressure and pushed market-implied odds of a Federal Reserve rate increase later this month higher.
As of 05:50 AM UTC on October 15, BTC was trading at $80,850 with an elevated trading volume of $40 billion, as per CoinGecko market data. The largest cryptocurrency remains approximately 35% below its all-time high of $126,080 recorded on October 6, 2025, while the broader crypto market has faced concurrent pressure from leveraged position liquidations and risk-off moves in equities.
Inflation Data Shows Faster Price Gains Driven by Energy
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on October 14 that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers rose 0.6% in September on a seasonally adjusted basis, after a 0.4% increase in August. Over the 12 months ending September, the index advanced 3.7%, up from 3.4% in the prior period. The index for all items less food and energy—often called core CPI—increased 0.3% for the month and 2.6% over the year, following a 2.4% annual rise through August.
Energy costs accounted for a substantial share of the monthly gain. The energy index rose 5.2% in September and stood 20.4% higher than a year earlier, while gasoline prices jumped 9.1% during the month and were up 34.2% over the year. The BLS noted that the gasoline increase accounted for over half of the overall monthly rise in the all-items index. Shelter costs also contributed, rising 0.4% after a 0.3% gain in August, while the food index was unchanged on the month.
These readings arrived two weeks before the Federal Open Market Committee’s October 27–28 meeting. Following the Federal Reserve’s September rate increase to a target range of 3.75%–4.00%—its first hike since 2023—traders had largely priced in a pause for October. Post-release pricing on the CME FedWatch tool showed the probability of a 25-basis-point hike at the October meeting rising toward roughly 47%–50%, from around 22% the day before. December hike odds also moved higher in market pricing. The data follows a period in which markets had monitored both the personal consumption expenditures price index and employment figures for signals on the pace of any further tightening.
Crypto Markets and Broader Risk Assets Absorb the Impact
Bitcoin’s move lower tracked declines across risk assets after the inflation release. The cryptocurrency had traded near $83,000 in the sessions immediately ahead of the report, as investors weighed the possibility that energy-driven price pressures could keep borrowing costs elevated.
Liquidations of leveraged positions added to selling pressure in crypto derivatives markets, while spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund flows turned mixed to negative in recent sessions. Related crypto-linked equities also fell, with shares of mining and related firms posting double-digit percentage declines in some cases on October 14.
Asian equity markets registered sharp losses in early Thursday trading, including an approximately 8% drop in South Korea’s Kospi, while U.S. futures pointed lower after the Nasdaq Composite had already retreated on Wednesday. Higher Treasury yields and a firmer dollar accompanied the repricing of rate expectations. Bitcoin has spent much of the past month consolidating between roughly $80,000 and $87,000 after recovering from summer lows near $58,000, though it has yet to sustain gains above the mid-$80,000s for long.
The episode comes nearly one year after the October 10, 2025, episode in which a rapid selloff liquidated roughly $19 billion in leveraged crypto positions shortly after Bitcoin reached its record high. While institutional participation through ETFs and corporate holdings has grown since then, the asset continues to respond to shifts in U.S. monetary policy expectations and real yields.
Additional data, including the October producer price index and any remarks from Federal Reserve officials, will arrive before the late-month policy meeting. For now, Bitcoin and other digital assets remain sensitive to the interplay between inflation readings and the path of interest rates.
Also read: This Indicator Puts Bitcoin Price at $251K by 2030, $2.2M by 2040
