Cryptocurrency bitcoin fell to a three-week low

As of March 8, bitcoin’s cryptocurrency quotes fell to a three-week low. This happened after US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell delivered a message to the US Congress.

According to Powell, the central bank plans to raise rates more than previously expected. He warned that the process of reducing inflation to the 2% target level has a long way to go. After that, BTC $65,732.61 Bitcoin -0.52% Market capitalization $1.3 trillion VOL. 24 hours $0.56 billion dropped to $ 21,871.

«As I mentioned, the latest economic data was stronger than expected. This means that the final level of interest rates is likely to be higher than previously anticipated,» Jerome Powell said.

Since last year, the Fed has raised rates by 450 basis points, which has affected the quotes of risky assets, including cryptocurrencies. Currently, most analysts are convinced that the central bank will raise rates by at least 100 basis points before easing its policy.

Last week, bitcoin fell by 5% in just 60 minutes amid reports of a possible collapse of Silvergate Bank, which serves the largest crypto platforms. After representatives of Silvergate announced that the bank might close, the American exchange Coinbase announced that it would stop working with Silvergate. Against this backdrop, the bitcoin rate fell from $ 23,443 to $ 22,259 in a few minutes, and the value of ethereum also dropped to $ 1,566.