ETH/USD: Ethereum Crashes 20% from Monday Peak Amid Broad Selloff. What Happened?

Second-largest token was under heavy pressure due to the forward guidance by the Federal Reserve. Why did Bitcoin hold up better?

• Ethereum prices ETHUSD were losing the ground under their feet as the crypto industry was under some great pressure. A sharp selling momentum picked up the pace Friday morning with Ether waving goodbye to more than 20% of its peak valuation earlier this week. In other words, prices plunged from a Monday high of $4,100 to a Friday session low of $3,260 per token. Why the sudden U-turn?
• Crypto markets are reacting with a slight delay to the Federal Reserve’s rates scare, which spooked stocks quite easily from the get-go. On Wednesday, Fed boss Jay Powell poured cold water on investors’ expectations for 2025 when he said the central bank will only cut interest rates twice next year. And that’s under the condition the economy stays healthy and inflation keeps low.
• In the ongoing dumpster fire, Bitcoin was actually doing better than its smaller peer thanks to its properties as a popular investable asset. While Ether was languishing with one-fifth of its valuation gone, the OG coin had lost about 12% since its Monday peak, which also happened to be its best price ever — an all-time high of $108,000. With interest rates staying higher for longer, money won’t be too affordable and liquidity won’t sweep every corner of the market, thus limiting the flow of cash available for the crypto space.