Crypto altcoins lead declines; Bitcoin drops back below $19,000

Crypto altcoins lead declines; Bitcoin drops back below $19,000

Prices in the crypto asset market slumped across the board on Thursday, after data showing US inflation at a 40-year highfurther eroded fading demand for riskier assets.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, fell as much as 5.1 percent on Thursday in New York to $18,201, its lowest in about three weeks. The September low was the least since prices tumbled in June after crypto lender Celsius collapsed. Ether fell as much as 8.2 percent, with both coins trending toward the lower end of their respective ranges. Each are down more than 60 percent this year.

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“The crypto markets are dumping right now,” said Garry Krugljakow, founder of 0VIX and GOGO Protocol, an open-source DeFi protocol for asset management and savings. He added that the market selloff in Bitcoin “will be continuous leading up to the next Federal Reserve meeting in November.”

Minutes from the Fed’s September meeting on Wednesday showed officials were committed to raising interest rates to curb inflation, a touchstone for crypto activity where Bitcoin has moved largely in tandem with risk assets. The core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy, increased 6.6 percent