Bitcoin gave up early gains, but Ethereum was on the move on Thursday as fresh inflation data slashed expectations of interest rate cuts.

What Happened: Bitcoin soared to $102,250 in early trading after President-elect Donald Trump shared positive thoughts on the cryptocurrency after ringing the New York Stock Exchange opening bell.

However, profit-takers took control as the digital asset reversed direction, plunging below $99,000 in the next two hours.

Ethereum maintained a healthier trajectory, rising to an intraday high of $3,986 before a pullback to $3,837.

Total cryptocurrency liquidations exceeded $318 million in the last 24 hours, with nearly $200 million in upside bets getting erased.

Bitcoin's Open Interest rose by 1.36% in the last 24 hours. A rise in OI, coinciding with a price drop, indicated an increase in short positions.

The Long/Short Ratio lent credence to this narrative, as downside bets surpassed bullish bets over the last 24 hours.

Market sentiment cooled from 83 to 76, as per the Cryptocurrency Fear & Greed Index, although the "Extreme Greed" mood remained dominant.

Top Gainers (24-Hours)

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $3.6 trillion, following a marginal contraction of 0.24% over the last 24 hours.

Stocks tumbled on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 234.44 points, or 0.53%, to close at 43,914.12. The S&P 500 fell 0.54%, ending at 6,051.25, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite came down 0.66% from its record close Wednesday, closing the session at 19,902.84.

Hotter-than-expected wholesale inflation data preceded the decline, as the producer price index rose 0.4% in November, higher than the forecasted figure of 0.2%.

This follows the consumer price index data released a day earlier that matched analyst's expectations

Traders priced in a 96.4% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut in next week's Federal Reserve, down from 97% a day before, per CME FedWatch data.

Analyst Notes: Chris Kline, COO & Co-Founder at BitcoinIRA, said in a note to Benzinga, "Price volatility continues to be a significant factor in market discovery, with the Consumer Price Index not decelerating as rapidly as anticipated, which is negatively impacting dollar strength."

"Additionally, Microstrategy's strategic move to the Nasdaq 100 is expected to generate substantial investment inflows as well as the Trump Administration's bullish sentiment on crypto and the appointment of pro-crypto cabinet members," Kline added.

Widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader Michaël van de Poppe noted that altcoin market capitalization has bottomed out.

"There is a bullish divergence and a strong move upwards, which suggests that we're likely just making a higher low here. Onwards and upwards," he projected.