Bitcoin Falls Sharply By 4%, Ether Down 7%: Today’s sharp fall in cryptocurrency markets was caused by Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s statement that the central bank would continue its restrictive policy stance at this year’s Jackson Hole Symposium. Bitcoin dropped by 4% on August 26th, at 5.34 UTC. In intra-day trading, it was quoted as US$ 20,727.60. Yesterday, Bitcoin closed at US$ 21,591.50. Bitcoin has gained 3.84% in the last five days and dropped by 2.54% over the past month. Bitcoin’s drop in value over the past six months has been significant at 47.15%. Two major factors driving the crypto market this year were the US Fed interest rate increases and the inflation rate.
Powell said today that “Restoring price stability” will likely require a restricted policy stance for a while. Historical record warns against prematurely loosening policies… We are about halfway through the inter-meeting. The September meeting decision will be based on all the data available and the changing outlook. As monetary policy becomes more restrictive, it will likely be appropriate to slow down the rate of increase.
Other major crypto coins fell today, just like Bitcoin. Ethereum closed at US$ 1,575.57. This is 7.06% lower than yesterday. Yesterday, Ether closed yesterday at US$ 1,695.29. Litecoin closed yesterday at US$ 1,695.29.
Stock markets also reacted negatively to Cryptocurrencies. After Powell’s speech, NASDAQ Composite Index dropped by about 2.69%, Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by around 1.82% and S&P 500 Index plummeted by around 2.18%.
