1. Hot U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI)
A sharper-than-expected rise in July’s PPI dashed investor hopes for aggressive Fed rate cuts in September, cooling sentiment toward risk assets like crypto.
This triggered widespread selling across crypto markets as inflation concerns took precedence over speculative gains.
2. Massive Leveraged Liquidations
The pullback from record highs—Bitcoin near $124K—caused over $1 billion in liquidations as leveraged positions were unwound.
CryptoNews reported that meme coins and altcoins led the decline: Bitcoin slipped nearly 3.9%, Ethereum dropped ~2.4%, XRP plunged over 6%, and other tokens followed suit.
3. Broader Market Sell-Off, Not a Reversal
Analysts characterized this slide as a healthy correction—a natural cooldown amid a strong rally—rather than the start of a downtrend.
Profit-taking after hitting fresh highs added to the downward pressure, even though institutional demand and ETF inflows remain robust. 
Summary (TL;DR)
Catalyst: U.S. inflation data (PPI) hotter than expected → cuts Fed rate cut bets.
Consequence: Profit-taking and unwinding of leveraged trades triggered $1B+ in liquidations.
Market Response: Broad red across cryptos; Bitcoin and Ethereum notably down.$BTC