Leading cryptos languished for a third consecutive day, mirroring cautious wider markets, as the US Federal Reserve revealed it is willing to contin
Leading cryptos languished for a third consecutive day, mirroring cautious wider markets, as the US Federal Reserve revealed it is willing to continue raising interest rates in a bid to tackle rampant inflation.
Bitcoin fell 4.4% to US$43,439 with peer Ethereum 4.5% lower at US$3,216.
The two largest cryptos by market size have now lost the 10% gains made over the last two weeks, with both trading approximately 30% below all-time highs recorded in November.
Fed minutes showed the central bank believes one or more half-point increases are appropriate if inflation remains high as it vowed to slash the balance sheet by US$95bn a month
“The Fed is serious about reducing their balance sheet which is positive for the dollar index and this is pushing the crypto prices lower today,” Naeem Aslam, Avatrade chief market analyst, said.
Chinese markets and virtually all Asian indices slipped overnight as soaring Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases ignited lockdowns across the country and slowed down its economy.
The wider crypto market followed Bitcoin and Ethereum’s downtrend, with Terra, Solana and Avalanche giving up 7.4%, 9.6% and 7.7% respectively.
Outside of the ‘top 10,’ Dogecoin, Near Protocol and Uniswap dropped 10.7%, 9.1% and 8.1% respectively.
Overall, 94 of the largest 100 digital currencies were changing hands in negative territory on Thursday morning.
UNUS SED LEO and Anchor Protocol were the most notable to buck the trend, climbing 1.7% and 14.9% respectively.
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