Crypto Crash: Bitcoin, Ethereum Plunge Amid Inflation Fears and Bybit Hack

Cryptocurrency markets have experienced a significant downturn, with top digital assets such as Bitcoin, XRP, and Dogecoin all posting losses. The sell-off comes amidst renewed inflation concerns and the fallout from a major hack at the Singapore-based exchange Bybit.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has dropped by more than 2% over the past day, trading at around $96,300. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, has also seen a decline, with its price falling by 3% to approximately $2,669. XRP, the third-largest digital asset, has plunged by nearly 6% and is currently trading at $2.56. Dogecoin, the eighth-largest virtual asset and an original meme coin, has shed 4% of its value, with its price hovering around $0.244.

The entire crypto market has lost more than 3% of its value in the past day, standing at approximately $3.3 trillion. Futures traders have also been hit hard, with over 192,000 traders liquidated and a total of $570 million in positions closed in 24 hours, according to CoinGlass.

The sell-off in crypto markets comes as U.S. equities also took a hit on Friday, following weaker-than-expected economic data that suggested inflation may not be going away soon. Crypto assets have historically moved in line with stocks, as they are considered "risk-on" assets.

The University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers revealed that Americans fear inflation may be here to stay, as President Donald Trump pursues his aggressive tariff policy. The Friday dip in prices also comes after hackers targeted crypto exchange Bybit, resulting in the loss of over $1.4 billion worth of Ethereum and related assets.

Bybit co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou confirmed that the firm was experiencing "massive withdrawals" following the hack. The exchange is still investigating the theft but suggested that a large transaction may have been "masked" or altered to send funds to the attackers' wallet. Zhou also mentioned the possibility that thieves managed to hack the computers of all signers authorizing transactions. The exchange is seeking a bridge loan to help return customer funds and has stated that it could cover all losses.