The latest CPI report shows U.S. inflation held steady in December, helping stabilize sentiment as investors remain cautious amid fragile crypto market consolidation.
Crypto markets traded sharply higher on Tuesday, Jan. 13, as softer U.S. inflation data helped stabilize risk sentiment, even as analysts flagged lingering fragility in market positioning.
As of press time, Bitcoin (BTC) traded around $95,600, up about 5% on the day. Total crypto market capitalization rose to roughly $3.35 trillion, gaining 5% over the past 24 hours.
The rest of the top-10 crypto assets are firmly in the green, with Ethereum (ETH) up nearly 8% to around $3,330. Dogecoin (DOGE) led large-cap gains, up 10% to about $0.15.
Compressed Sell-Side
Chris Beamish, an analyst at glassnode, pointed out in an X post today that Bitcoin’s sell-side risk ratio has “compressed back to lows not seen since Oct ’23.”
He added that realised profits and losses are now occurring at “relatively low multiples, pointing to subdued conviction behind distribution at current price levels.”
As of Tuesday morning, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index remained in the “fear” zone for a third consecutive day, signaling continued investor caution, though softer than last month’s extended “extreme fear” streak.
Big Movers and Liquidations
Looking at the top-100 assets by market cap, Story (IP) led gains by far, jumping nearly 50% on the day. Monero (XMR) followed, continuing its multi-day rally, up 15% today as privacy-focused tokens continued to attract retail interest.
On the downside, losses were limited. Zcash (ZEC) and Midnight (NIGHT) both slipped about 3.2%, making them the weakest performers among the top-100 assets.
Over the past 24 hours, the market saw nearly $159 million in crypto liquidations, per data from Coinglass. Short liquidations totaled about $94.9 million, exceeding $63.8 million in long liquidations. Bitcoin accounted for $44.1 million of the total, followed by Ethereum at $24.9 million.
ETFs and Macro Conditions
On Monday, Jan. 12, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows of $116.7 million, pushing cumulative inflows to $56.52 billion, according to SoSoValue. Over the same period, spot Ethereum ETFs also saw relatively weak net inflows, but were still in the green, adding a net $5 million and pushing cumulative inflows to $12.44 billion.
On the macro front, U.S. risk sentiment improved after fresh inflation data showed price pressures easing. In December, core consumer prices, excluding food and energy, rose just 0.2% month over month and 2.6% year over year, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Headline CPI increased 0.3% on the month, putting annual inflation at 2.7%, in line with the Dow Jones consensus estimate, and holding steady from November, CNBC pointed out.
U.S. equities were little changed on Tuesday as investors digest today’s inflation report, published just hours ago, as well as early Q4 2025 earnings. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 35 points.
