Bitcoin’s $100,000 dream slips away as $939 million crypto wipeout pushes traders toward $78,000

Bitcoin registered an intraday low of $79,730 before recovering to around $82,000 as surging US wholesale inflation intensified a cryptocurrency selloff that triggered nearly $940 million in liquidations.This price action extended losses as stronger-than-expected inflation data raised concerns about another interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.According to CoinGlass, 176,506 traders were liquidated during the period, totaling $939.24 million. The largest single liquidation occurred on Binance, where traders closed a BTC-USDT position worth $12 million.Surging inflation collides with falling Treasury yields and Fed uncertaintyThe selling followed a Labor Department report showing US producer prices jumped 1.3% in September, the biggest monthly increase since March 2022. Annual wholesale inflation accelerated to 6.3%, its highest level in nearly four years.Core producer prices, excluding food and energy, rose 0.7% against expectations of 0.3%, taking the annual rate to 5%. The figures followed Wednesday's consumer inflation reading of 3.7%, indicating that price pressures were spreading beyond the energy market.Ricky Ho, chief investment officer of a single-family office, said t...