BTC, ETH, Most Cryptocurrencies Enter Loss Arena as US Mulls Interest Hike

Bitcoin slipped down on the crypto price charts soon after Jerome Powell proposed a series of interest-rate hikes that may be higher than the usual 0.25 percentage point. Powell is the chairman of US' Federal Reserve. With a value loss of 1.66 percent, BTC is currently trading at $42,789 (roughly Rs. 32 lakh) as per Indian exchange CoinSwitch Kuber. Bitcoin's losses on global exchanges emerged to be even deeper. On CoinMarketCap and Binance, Bitcoin fell by around 2.91 percent to trade at $40,573 (roughly Rs. 30 lakh).

Ether, the world's second most valued cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, also tumbled on national and international exchanges. As per Gadgets 360's crypto price tracker. ETH fell nearly by 2.91 percent on Coinbase with its value hovering around $3,006 (roughly Rs. 2 lakh).

“The risk of higher borrowing costs and potentially recessionary effects on the economy drove the rotation back into safe haven assets. Despite the store of value properties which many associate with crypto, yesterday's sell-off was clear indication that crypto is still being traded largely as risk assets,” the CoinDCX research team told Gadgets 360.

Several other popular cryptocurrencies like Binance Coin, Ripple, Solana, Terra, Cardano, Avalanche, and Polkadot also saw minor, but significant losses.

Even memecoins Shiba Inu and Dogecoin failed to reap any gains.

Only Tether, USD Coin, Tron, and Monero maintained a tad bit greenery on the price charts with miniscule profits.

With what's being called the fourth wave of COVID-19 making inroads in parts of China, UK, US, and India — curfews and lockdowns have begun to tamper the economic activities in these regions.

The Russia-Ukraine war, that started on February 24, has still not come close to an end. Not only has that led to major damage to life and properties, but has also gravely dented the finances and economic systems of both the nations.

Investors could hence be pulling away money from risk assets such as cryptocurrencies.

Industry insiders however, remain hopeful that with more nations creating legal frameworks around cryptocurrencies, the sector could soon grow out of its volatile phase.

“We have continued to witness increasing adoption and utility of crypto across multiple jurisdictions, and remain optimistic on crypto's eventual march towards the mainstream,” the CoinDCX team added.

The overall market cap of the crypto sector has also dropped down a bit and is currently at $1.88 trillion (roughly Rs. 1,43,52,164 crore). On April 20, crypto sector's total worth was $1.91 trillion (roughly Rs. 1,46,22,482 crore), as per CoinMarketCap.

Cryptocurrency is an unregulated digital currency, not a legal tender and subject to market risks. The information provided in the article is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, trading advice or any other advice or recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by NDTV. NDTV shall not be responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any perceived recommendation, forecast or any other information contained in the article.