Crypto Market Stalls Despite Positive Inflation Data

The cryptocurrency market remained flat on Friday, May 16, following the release of positive macroeconomic data that pointed to easing inflation earlier this week.

Bitcoin (BTC) increased 1% on the day to just under $104,000, trading flat on the week. Ethereum (ETH) grew 2% to $2,589, adding slightly to a strong week following its notable gains since the Pectra upgrade last week.

Solana (SOL) remained flat on the day at $172, while XRP is down a mild 1.5% at around $2.42.

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization is up by just 0.2% on the day, settling at around $3.45 trillion.

Meanwhile, leveraged liquidations reached $270.25 million, according to CoinGlass. For the fourth consecutive day, ETH led liquidations with $85 million, followed by BTC at $44 million. Altcoins collectively accounted for approximately $36 million in liquidations.

Spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) attracted approximately $115 million in inflows on May 15. Spot Ethereum ETFs, on the other hand, recorded nearly $40 million in outflows, according to SoSoValue data.

“The market is experiencing a pause due to profit-taking and extremely thin liquidity,” said Aran Hawker, CEO at CoinPanel. “Lower-cap assets, compared to Bitcoin, amplify their moves significantly in both directions under these conditions.”

He noted that in this kind of fragile market environment, even modest trading flows can cause exaggerated price reactions. “It’s also important to remember that in such a volatile market state, anything below a 5% move is just noise and should be treated as normal price fluctuations rather than trend reversals,” Hawker added.

CPI and PPI

The current market pause follows a week of encouraging macroeconomic data. On Tuesday, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report showed a 0.2% monthly increase – slightly below the expected 0.3% – and a 2.3% year-over-year rise, marking the lowest annual inflation rate since February 2021.

Meanwhile, the Producer Price Index (PPI) fell 0.5% in April, the largest monthly decline since October. The drop defied economists’ expectations for a 0.2% increase.

“We continue to see positive macro influences, including expectations of Fed rate cuts, softening inflation, and the 90-day tariff resolution between the U.S. and China,” said Hawker. “It also seems that the ‘4D chess’ strategy from the Trump administration has worked out specifically in the context of tariff tensions, leading to a temporary easing of trade uncertainty.”