- Cryptocurrencies extended their slide on Monday and continue to come under pressure.
- Meanwhile, investors are bracing for volatility from the jumbo interest-rate hike expected this week from the U.S. Federal Reserve to fight price pressures.
With the likelihood of a Fed hike of 75 basis points expected this week and a further drop in the second-largest token Ether, in the wake of its successful software upgrade, cryptocurrencies extended their slide on Monday and continue to come under pressure.
While Bitcoin shed about 5% to fall below US$19,000, Ether fell as much as 5.6% to a two-month low and was trading around US$1,300 at the time of writing.
Other major altcoins have also struggled as investors await the latest U.S. central bank interest rate decision.
An Ether jump since mid-June that was spurred by hype around a software upgrade known as “The Merge” that would slash energy usage, is rapidly unwinding now that it has been successful.
In any event, outside of the sharp reduction in energy usage, the full impact of The Merge may not be readily apparent for some time.
For now, Ether and other cryptocurrencies seem vulnerable to the same macroeconomic forces that have been affecting stocks and other risk assets for months.
Central bank tightening has left global stocks lower wiping out a rebound since mid-June while a dollar gauge pushed higher as investors shunned risk.
Meanwhile, investors are bracing for volatility from the jumbo interest-rate hike expected this week from the U.S. Federal Reserve to fight price pressures.
