The worry over whether the US central bank can tackle inflation without throwing the economy into a recession is sending investors into a bit of a fight or flight mode as they take their money and focus on safer and more stable investments like the dollar, which is at a 20-year high. This fear has triggered a huge sell-off, with tech giants – think Google, Microsoft, Meta, Tesla – losing over US$1 trillion in three trading sessions.
Also, Bitcoin has seen its price fall 20% over the past week, and Ethereum also is down almost 20% of its value, according to CoinGecko data. The fluctuation isn’t necessarily new, but the crypto market has been pretty quiet this year, with Bitcoin losing half of its value since its November high. For example, Coinbase’s highly anticipated NFT trading marketplace launch last week was a bit of a bust, with it seeing less than US$60,000 worth of trades on its debut.
Key comments:
“Overall markets remain under pressure from inflation and growth fears,” said Vijay Ayyar, vice president of corporate development and global expansion in leading cryptocurrency company Luno.
“Investors will be better off to stack cash and wait for signals of a reversal before allocating fresh capital to crypto. Patience will be key,” said Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus Cryptocurrency Exchange, one of India’s top crypto assets trading platforms. He anticipates a strong comeback in the last quarter of this year.
