The crypto market's aggregated cap dropped $1.4 trillion since November
Cryptocurrencies are moving in tandem with stocks, which continue to fall since the start of this year and just experienced its worst week since March 2020.
Investors are selling risk assets like technology stocks in preparation for stricter monetary policy from the Federal Reserve. They're also weighing the impact of further regulation on the crypto market as Russia's central bank plans to ban the mining and use of cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin drops as Dow falls
On Monday, Bitcoin dropped to $32,982.11, its lowest point since July, according to Coin Metrics, but rose 5.6% in afternoon trading to $37,183.25. Meanwhile, the Dow fell as much as 1,115 points and the S&P 500 fell into correction territory for a brief moment.
Ether fell to as low as $2,176.41, its lowest since July, according to Coin Metrics. It then rose 1.1% to $2,444.85. Bitcoin and ether are both nearly 50% off their all-time highs.
"It's possible that macroeconomic concerns, such as the Fed's response to inflation rates, have facilitated more de-risking activity in general," said the head of OTC options trading at Kraken, Juthica Chou. "The recent price drop, coupled with high volatility, could be leading to further selling as participants look to reduce risk."