The cryptocurrency market fell at the beginning of the week as traders turned their focus to new inflation data and digested the latest in the SEC's legal battle with Ripple.
Bitcoin fell more than 2.8% to trade at $25,004, according to Coin Metrics. Ethereum, whose movements track those of Bitcoin as a top-tier crypto asset rather than another altcoin, was last down about 4% at $1,540.
Bitcoin briefly fell below $25,000, the first time below this key support level since June.
Altcoins led the cryptocurrency market's declines to start the day, after the Securities and Exchange Commission argued late Friday that it should appeal a landmark July court ruling in its case against Ripple.
XRP fell 5%, according to Coin Metrics, along with the Polygon token. Polkadot lost 4%, while Binance Coin, Solana Token and Litecoin fell about 3% each.
“It feels like an exhaustion, and with the general decline in liquidity from market makers, any move lower tends to be more volatile,” said Darius Tabatabai, co-founder of Vertex Protocol. However, the environment is challenging as volumes are still generally low and users are not returning to cryptocurrencies in large numbers yet.
Investors are looking forward to key inflation data this week after a series of stronger-than-expected economic data last week renewed fears that the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates more than previously expected.
The latest CPI and Producer Price Index readings will fall on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Investors are hoping for lower readings, although both are expected to rise due to energy cost pressures.
Although inflation could be a positive catalyst for Bitcoin in theory, it could also steer some investors who fear a recession away from risky assets.
