Bitcoin Plunges Below $20,000 Again As ECB Gears Up To Raise Rates At A Faster Pace ⋆ ZyCrypto - BitcoinEthereumNews.com
On Wednesday, Bitcoin fell as low as $19,899 following a risk-off by investors after a volatile New York session on Tuesday. Ethereum dipped by over 9% to $1,114 with other cryptos such as Solana and Shiba Inu plunging by over 10%. Technology stocks led the overnight carnage with the high beta Nasdaq 100 Index (NDX) dropping close to 4% before market close. The sharp drop was triggered by a plethora of factors, key among them, a statement by the European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde detailing a plan to go harder on inflation. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency investors have particularly been attentive to inflation rate decisions, with major asset classes balking at the prospects of further monetary tightening to tame soaring prices. In the Tuesday statement, Lagarde reiterated her commitment to ease inflationary pressure stating that despite the underlying economic uncertainty “the pace of interest rate normalization canot be defined ex-ante.” Consequently, she stated that the bank intended to raise the three key interest rates by 25 basis points during the next meeting on 21 July after ending its bond-buying stimulus program. The last time the bank raised interest rates in the eurozone was in 2011. However, the ECB chief noted that “if