On Wednesday and into Thursday, it slumped.
The images are by Jirapong Manustrong.
The Federal Reserve could soon start cutting back on its support for the economy after minutes from its last meeting showed.
Over the course of the day, the world's biggest currency was 8.6% lower. On the exchange, the price was $42,776. The record high of close to $69,000 that was touched in November has been put more than 30% below.
The second-biggest token plunged more than 12% to $3,336. The coin dropped around 8%.
The Fed releasedhawkish minutes from its December meeting, which showed the US central bank could tighten monetary policy faster than previously expected.
In December, the US central bank said it would speed up reductions in its bond purchases and signaled that interest rates would rise in 2022, as it grapples with the strongest inflation in 39 years.
The minutes show policymakers could go even further and faster than that, and the central bank could even start selling bonds it bought during the coronaviruses crisis.
They said that it may be appropriate to increase the federal funds rate sooner or at a faster pace than participants had anticipated.
The experts gave us their investing outlooks for 2022, from high-conviction altcoin picks to what's next for regulation.
The markets reacted quickly. Cryptocurrencies and technology stocks got trashed after bond yields shot up.
Analysts said higher bond yields make unprofitable tech companies look less attractive. Instead, investors are looking for companies with dividends and strong earnings that can benefit from economic growth and deliver good returns as inflation stays hot.
Sean Farrell is head of digital asset strategy at Fundstrat. He said the coin is still maturing as a store of value.
The "buy everything trade" is on its last legs according to Jeffrey Halley.
He said that the young pups would have to learn the meaning of the term 'two-way price volatility'.
Business Insider has an original article.
