Ovunc Kutlu
14 June 2022•Update: 15 June 2022
ANKARA
The price of Bitcoin on Tuesday dove to its lowest level in 18 months as the sell-off continues in cryptocurrency and global equity markets with fears of recession stemming from the Federal Reserve's rate hikes.
Bitcoin, the world's largest crypto by market size, saw its price further plummeting to $20,846 at 0200GMT, marking the lowest level since Dec. 16, 2020, according to official figures.
The market capitalization of Bitcoin also fell to approximately $400 billion at that time, which is a $200 billion weekly loss.
The price later climbed back to $22,850 at 0536GMT for a daily loss of more than 10%.
Ethereum, the world's biggest altcoin by market value, had its price dipping at $1,075.80 at 0230GMT -- its lowest since Jan. 14, 2021. It later rose to $1,225 at 0537GMT for a daily decline of 9.3%.
The total value of the cryptocurrency market was down 7.1% to $963 billion at 0537GMT, which is more than a $300 billion loss in less than a week.
The massive losses in the crypto market come as US stock exchanges continue to plummet amid fears that the Fed's aggressive monetary tightening against record-high inflation could cause a recession in the world's biggest economy.
The Dow Jones fell 2.8% to close Monday with a massive 876-point loss. The S&P 500 lost 3.9%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dove 4.7%.
The Fed's two-day meeting will conclude on Wednesday at 1800GMT, and it is widely expected to make another 50 basis point rate hike.
The central bank could signal 75 basis points of interest rate increase for its September meeting to tame consumer inflation that annually rose 8.6% in May.
