Ethereum Price falls 6% as hot CPI triggers $106M wipeout

Ethereum price has fallen nearly 6% to approximately $2,350 on October 15, after stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation data triggered heavy selling and more than $106 million in leveraged ETH long positions were liquidated on Binance within one hour.

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost reported that the liquidation event followed Wednesday’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) release, which showed U.S. inflation accelerating in September. He described the selloff as Binance’s largest hourly Ethereum long liquidation event in six months. The analyst linked the heavy trading losses to increased leverage and concerns about further Federal Reserve interest rate increases.

🗞️ Hot CPI wipes out $106 Million in ETH Longs in one hour.

US inflation came in higher than expected in the latest CPI report, accelerating from August. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.6% month over month, compared with 0.4% in August and 0.5% expected by consensus.… pic.twitter.com/HUhPXMEuqp

— Darkfost (@Darkfost_Coc) October 15, 2026

Ethereum price drops as hot CPI triggers $106M liquidations

Ethereum price faced sharp selling after the September U.S. inflation report exceeded market expectations, forcing traders to close leveraged positions as prices declined.

Darkfost said more than $106 million in ETH long positions were liquidated on Binance within a single hour following the announcement. The figure covers the value of closed leveraged positions, not the amount of cash individual traders personally lost.

The analyst reported that Ethereum price declined from approximately $2,500 to $2,350 after the inflation release. He estimated the correction at roughly 7% during the period he examined.

According to CoinGecko data, ETH traded at around $2,350, representing a 5.99% decline over 24 hours and an 8.31% loss across seven days.

At that price, Ethereum’s market capitalization stood near $286.9 billion, with approximately $18.37 billion in cryptocurrency trading volume over the previous 24 hours.

During the decline, some market reports recorded ETH briefly trading near $2,315, its lowest reported level since the cryptocurrency’s recovery during August.

The liquidation event occurred as traders who had borrowed funds to bet on rising Ethereum prices faced automatic position closures.

When leveraged positions lose too much value, exchanges can close them to prevent losses from exceeding the available collateral. The resulting transactions can increase trading activity during sudden market declines.

Darkfost said Ethereum derivatives trading volumes were approximately nine times larger than spot trading volumes in the period he examined.

In his assessment, the difference increased the market’s sensitivity to sudden price movements, particularly when heavily leveraged traders reacted to economic announcements.

His reported $106 million liquidation event refers specifically to Binance ETH long positions during one hour. It should not be confused with total cryptocurrency market liquidations across all exchanges over 24 hours.

U.S. inflation rises as investors await Fed decision

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics confirmed that the Consumer Price Index increased 0.6% in September, compared with a 0.4% monthly rise in August.

Economists had expected an increase of approximately 0.5%, according to the consensus figures cited by Darkfost.

Annual inflation reached 3.7%, up from 3.4% in August. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, increased 2.6% over the previous year, compared with 2.4% during the preceding month.

Energy prices accounted for much of the monthly increase. The BLS reported that gasoline prices rose 9.1% in September, contributing more than half of the overall monthly CPI increase.

Over the preceding 12 months, gasoline prices increased 34.2%, while fuel oil prices rose 74.2%. The energy index climbed 20.4% annually.

Price increases extended beyond energy. Shelter costs rose 0.4% during September, while airline fares increased 1.2%.

The inflation report prompted investors to reassess the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook.

Darkfost estimated that market expectations for another interest rate increase had risen from roughly 17% to nearly 30% over the preceding week.

The figure represents the analyst’s assessment of market pricing, not a decision announced by the Federal Reserve.

Higher interest rates can change the relative appeal of investments, particularly when traders are using borrowed money to hold positions.

The Federal Reserve’s next scheduled policy decision is on October 28, while the government is scheduled to release October CPI figures on November 10.

The latest figures arrived after an earlier Bitcoin price decline following the U.S. inflation report, when the largest cryptocurrency fell below $82,000 as traders reacted to the same economic data.

Ethereum traders face ETF withdrawals and short positions

Ethereum’s decline coincided with renewed attention to institutional investment flows and derivatives positions.

After U.S. spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds attracted approximately $24.8 million on October 13, the next trading session showed withdrawals in the available ETF data. 

According to SoSoValue data, U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded approximately $130 million in net outflows on October 14, led by BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), which saw $110 million in withdrawals.

Earlier reporting on Ethereum ETF withdrawals and cryptocurrency fund flows documented approximately $1.29 billion in combined outflows from tracked U.S. cryptocurrency investment products during October 5–9. The withdrawals coincided with a period when Ethereum struggled to maintain higher prices.

Meanwhile, derivatives traders continued positioning for lower ETH prices.

Crypto analyst Daan Crypto Trades reported that short positions had increased as Ethereum moved lower following the inflation announcement.

Short positions are trades designed to benefit when an asset’s price declines. Traders holding them can face losses if prices rise sharply.

$ETH Open Interest has ramped up hard after the CPI print.

A lot of shorts that piled into the downside momentum. Most of them are sitting comfy and steady so don't expect a squeeze straight away.

This only gets interesting the moment you start testing some of those levels… pic.twitter.com/PaJRz1Mm3N

— Daan Crypto Trades (@DaanCrypto) October 14, 2026

Daan described the positions as remaining relatively stable during the downward movement, suggesting that some traders were maintaining their bearish exposure.

Blockchain monitoring account Onchain Lens identified approximately $75 million in short positions associated with market maker Wintermute on decentralized derivatives platform Hyperliquid.

Its report indicated that Ethereum represented one of the larger positions.

WINTERMUTE HOLDS $75.45M IN SHORTS ON HYPERLIQUID

Wintermute currently holds $87.34M in open positions, with 86.4% of its exposure on the short side.

· Shorts: $75.45M (86.4%)
· Longs: $11.89M (13.6%)
· Unrealized PnL: +$3.97M
· Lifetime PnL: +$209.79M

Its largest shorts… pic.twitter.com/yJ0FlIpQNy

— Onchain Lens (@OnchainLens) October 15, 2026

Those positions represent a reported trading snapshot. Their size and direction can change as traders adjust their exposure.

Can Ethereum price hold $2,300 after the selloff?

Ethereum’s daily technical indicators pointed to continued selling pressure as the cryptocurrency approached the $2,300 area.

The supplied chart placed ETH near $2,354.50, below the lower Bollinger Band at approximately $2,362.90.

Bollinger Bands measure how far a price moves from its recent average. Trading below the lower band indicates that the price has fallen outside the indicator’s usual lower range.

Ethereum remained well below the middle Bollinger Band at approximately $2,595.40, while the upper band stood near $2,828.

The distance between the bands indicated elevated price volatility during the observed period.

Ethereum’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) measured 33.91, below the neutral level of 50 and its moving average of 47.42.

The reading indicated weak momentum and placed Ethereum near the commonly watched oversold threshold of 30.

An RSI reading below 30 does not guarantee a recovery, while a reading above that level does not rule out further price declines.

The immediate support area identified in the supplied chart was $2,300. A sustained breakdown below that level could expose Ethereum to further selling, depending on trading volume and market conditions.

For an initial recovery, traders would watch whether ETH could move back above the lower Bollinger Band near $2,363.

The middle band near $2,595 represented a higher technical reference point if the price recovered further.

In an earlier Ethereum price analysis during ETF outflows, traders monitored $2,550 and $2,500 as potential downside levels. Ethereum’s October 15 decline placed the cryptocurrency below both areas.

The latest supplied daily chart recorded an RSI of 33.91 and placed Ethereum’s lower Bollinger Band at $2,362.90, with ETH trading just beneath it near $2,354.50.