Crypto market rallies as inflation cools; Bitcoin tops $84K

The cryptocurrency market extended its rally on March 13, buoyed by easing inflation in the US, which fueled optimism among investors.

Bitcoin (BTC) surged past the $84,000 mark, leading gains across major altcoins, including Ethereum (ETH), Ripple’s XRP, and Solana (SOL).

The broader market sentiment turned bullish as risk assets benefited from the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, which showed inflation cooling more than expected.

Crypto market rebounds as inflation eases

Fresh economic data showed US CPI slowed to 0.2% in February, down from 0.3% in January, while annual inflation declined to 2.8%, better than the forecasted 2.9%.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile items like food and energy, hit a multi-year low of 3.1%, further supporting a risk-on environment for digital assets.

This macroeconomic relief, combined with receding fears over Donald Trump’s tariff measures, propelled the global crypto market cap 1.65% higher in the past 24 hours to $2.71 trillion.

Source: CoinMarketCap

Bitcoin price hits $84K amid strong market demand

Bitcoin extended its bullish momentum, gaining 2% in the past day to trade near $84,000.

The leading cryptocurrency touched a 24-hour high of $84,358 after bottoming at $80,635.

On-chain data signaled renewed investor confidence, with BTC futures open interest (OI) rising 3% to $47.72 billion.

Bitcoin’s market dominance also increased by 0.08% to 61.36%, indicating a shift in capital from altcoins to BTC.

Ethereum, XRP, and Solana register gains

• Ethereum (ETH): ETH price edged up 1% to $1,889, with intraday fluctuations between $1,832 and $1,954. Despite the modest gains, Ethereum’s market dominance slipped 1.66% to 8.4%, although ETH futures OI climbed 1.5% to $17.59 billion.
  
• Ripple (XRP): XRP outperformed with a 3% surge to $2.24, driven by increasing speculation around an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF). Its futures OI spiked 4% to $3.04 billion.
  
• Solana (SOL): SOL rose 2% to $125, mirroring the broader market uptrend. Its futures OI increased 2.5% to $3.64 billion, reflecting heightened investor activity.

Meme coins rally: DOGE, SHIB, and PEPE soar

The meme coin sector followed the broader market recovery, with notable gains:

• Dogecoin (DOGE): +5% to $0.1707
  
• Shiba Inu (SHIB): +2.5% to $0.00001228
  
• Pepe Coin (PEPE): +18% to $0.000007316, leading meme coin gains

Winners and losers in

Biggest Gainers:

• Pi (PI): +16% ($1.71)
• Story (IP): +14% ($6.30)
• Celestia (TIA): +12% ($3.68)

Biggest Losers:

• Ethena (ENA): -4% ($0.365)
• Hyperliquid (HYPE): -4% ($13.42)
• Movement (MOVE): -3% ($0.4792)

Further fueling optimism, blockchain analytics firm Santiment reported that the total number of Bitcoin wallets with non-zero balances reached 54.71 million, just shy of the all-time high of 54.72 million.

This surge in wallet growth suggests increasing long-term interest in BTC despite recent market volatility.

With inflation cooling and institutional demand rising, the crypto market appears poised for sustained bullish momentum.

However, traders remain watchful for upcoming economic data and potential regulatory shifts that could influence market direction.