🚨 Crypto Bloodbath: August 15 Market Plunge as U.S. PPI Shockwave Hits – Which Coins Are Primed for a Rebound?

Another day, another 'economic indicator' sends crypto traders scrambling. The U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) just delivered a gut punch to digital assets—because apparently, traditional finance metrics still call the shots in our decentralized future.

Why the market panicked: July's hotter-than-expected PPI numbers triggered algorithmic sell-offs across exchanges. Never mind that crypto was supposed to be inflation-resistant—when Wall Street sneezes, crypto still catches a cold.

Silver lining for degens: Double-digit dips create prime buying opportunities. While Bitcoin maximalists hyperventilate, altcoin hunters are loading bags on projects with actual utility (and the occasional memecoin—we don’t judge).

The cynical take: Nothing unites crypto bros like a good crash. 'This is healthy consolidation!' they’ll tweet from their underwater leveraged positions.

(BTCUSDT)

At the same time, some projects still pumped. SKALE surged nearly 48%, standing out in an otherwise red market.

PPI Outpaces CPI – Should Crypto Investors Worry or Hunt for the Best Crypto to Buy?

CPI reflects consumer prices, while PPI measures production costs. When PPI rises faster than CPI, it pressures profit margins and signals potential inflation: typically bearish for equities. For crypto, the LINK is weaker. As a high-volatility, risk-on asset class, market drivers such as strong narratives, retail FOMO, and memecoin speculation can outweigh macro headwinds.

In 2021, for example, PPI climbed sharply yet BTC and ETH continued a parabolic rally, supported by liquidity and institutional inflows.

Bitcoin has reclaimed $118K, ethereum is back above $4.6K, and the market mood leans toward buying yesterday’s dip. So, what are the latest crypto updates for August 15?

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USELESS Memecoin Gets Binance Futures Listing After Coinbase and Binance US

Binance Futures will list the USELESSUSDT perpetual contract on August 15 at 20:15 (UTC+8), offering up to 50x leverage. This listing follows recent announcements from Coinbase and Binance US, which have already boosted USELESS’s visibility and trading volume.

As the largest memecoin by market cap launched on Bonkfun, USELESS has quickly attracted attention in the crypto community. With multiple major exchange listings in such a short time, USELESS is cementing its presence as a leading solana memecoin in the current market.

$6 Billion in BTC & ETH Options Expire on August 15

On August 15, $6 billion worth of crypto options expired, representing about 9% of total open interest. For Bitcoin, 39,000 options expired with a Put/Call Ratio of 0.95, a Max Pain at $118,000, and a notional value of $4.6 billion. Ethereum saw 280,000 options expire, with a Put/Call Ratio of 1.04, a Max Pain at $4,000, and a notional value of $1.3 billion.

BTC recently hit a new high, while ETH reached an all-time high NEAR $4,800, with market sentiment extremely optimistic. Deribit set a milestone this week, processing $10.9 billion in options trading in a single day, its first after acquisition. BTC’s implied volatility remains low, under 35% for short- and medium-term options, while ETH’s main-term IV sits near 70%. 

OKX Executes Massive OKB Burn, Supply Now Capped at 21 Million

According to Etherscan data, OKX’s official buy-back and burn wallet permanently removed 279 million OKB tokens from circulation today at 14:00 (UTC+8). The tokens were sent to the blockchain’s null address (0x00…0000), marking a verifiable on-chain burn. This MOVE reduces the total OKB supply to just 21 million tokens, aligning it with Bitcoin’s capped model and potentially increasing scarcity for holders.