Ethereum fell about 4% to $2,350 on Oct. 15 after stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation data triggered selling across cryptocurrency markets. The decline led to more than $106 million in Ethereum long liquidations on Binance within one hour, according to CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost.

Santiment data showed that Ethereum open interest remained at 6.23 million ETH on both October 4 and October 14, even as its dollar-denominated value declined 11%. U.S. spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds recorded approximately $129.5 million in net outflows on October 14, while total ETH liquidations across exchanges reached about $283 million over 24 hours.

Hot CPI Reading Triggers Binance ETH Liquidations

U.S. consumer prices rose 0.6% in September, compared with a 0.4% monthly increase in August and economists’ expectation of 0.5%. Annual inflation reached 3.7%, up from 3.4% in August, while core inflation increased to 2.6% from 2.4%.

The stronger-than-expected reading prompted traders to reassess the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate outlook. Rate expectations are closely watched in leveraged crypto markets because borrowing costs feed directly into the cost of maintaining leveraged positions. Gasoline prices rose 34.2 year over year, fuel oil prices increased 74.2%, shelter costs climbed 0.4% in September, and airline fares advanced 1.2%.

Ethereum dropped from roughly $2,500 to $2,350 after the CPI release. Darkfost reported that Binance experienced its largest hourly ETH long-liquidation event in six months, with more than $106 million in leveraged bullish positions closed as prices declined. A liquidation occurs when an exchange closes a position that no longer satisfies its margin requirements, and each closed long adds sell orders to the market as the position is unwound.

ETH long liquidation | Source: CryptoQuant

Santiment estimated that Ethereum liquidations totaled nearly $283 million across exchanges over 24 hours. Bitcoin liquidations reached approximately $196 million during the same period. Darkfost also reported that Ethereum futures trading volume was roughly nine times spot volume, indicating that a large share of market activity was concentrated in derivatives.

Ethereum Open Interest Holds Steady in ETH Terms

Open interest counts the total futures contracts still open on exchanges and serves as a standard gauge of leveraged exposure in derivatives markets. Santiment reported an 11% decline in Ethereum’s dollar-denominated open interest between October 4 and October 14. ETH also fell about 11% over the same period. Because exchanges value outstanding futures positions in dollars based on the underlying asset’s price, the matching declines do not necessarily represent a similar reduction in the number of contracts.

Measured in ETH, open interest stood at 6.23 million coins on October 4 and again on October 14. Positions fluctuated between 5.97 million and 6.47 million ETH during the 10-day period. The data indicate that the decline in dollar value largely reflected Ethereum’s price drop rather than a comparable decrease in the amount of ETH represented by outstanding positions.

Santiment’s figures covered the period before the CPI-driven liquidations, which occurred after the October 14 reading. They therefore do not show how much exposure traders retained after the sell-off. The Federal Reserve’s next interest-rate decision is scheduled for October 28, the next scheduled update to the rate outlook traders reassessed after the inflation report.

Spot Ethereum ETFs Post $129.5M in Outflows

Spot ETFs hold Ether directly, and their published daily flows net creations against redemptions, so a day of net outflows means redemptions exceeded new creations. U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded approximately $129.5 million in net outflows on October 14, according to Farside data cited by Santiment. Separate fund figures showed about $110 million in withdrawals from BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust on the same day. The outflows followed a $24.8 million net inflow on October 13.

ETH ETF | Source: SoSoValue

Short positions also drew attention after the inflation announcement. Crypto analyst Daan Crypto Trades reported increasing short exposure, while Onchain Lens identified roughly $75 million in short positions associated with Wintermute on Hyperliquid, including Ethereum exposure.

Bollinger Bands are a technical volatility indicator drawn a set number of standard deviations above and below a moving average, so moves outside the bands reflect unusually large deviations from recent trading ranges. Ethereum traded near $2,354 after the decline, below its lower daily Bollinger Band at about $2,363. The middle band was near $2,595, and the upper band approached $2,828.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice.

Source: The Market Periodical — https://themarketperiodical.com/2026/10/16/ethereum-price-slides-as-hot-u-s-cpi-sparks-106m-in-binance-long-wipeout/