The year 2022 has not started on a promising note for cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin and altcoins are set to face technical and macro challenges in the coming weeks. Since December 4, 2021, bitcoin is not able to cross USD 50000. In 2022, bitcoin is down by over 12%.
US Federal Reserve Stand
The central bank and monetary authority of the United States are called the Federal Reserve System. Federal Reserve and some prominent central banks have proposed to raise rates and withdraw stimulus measures. The notion that bitcoin is a hedge against inflation and other assets seems to be not working as the bitcoin loss is disproportionate. It appears that crypto and traditional markets are adequately co-related.
Bitcoin market capitalization has dropped to USD 793 billion. In 2022 the fall is about USD 93 billion. The crypto Fear and Greed Index is at an all-time low in January 2022 after July 2021. The crypto market is ruled by extreme fear.
How Altcoins are doing
The Federal Reserve’s proposed move adversely impacted altcoins as well. Ethereum, Cardano, Solano, Shiba Inu, and Binance coin dropped by over 10%.
Since November 2021, ETH-USD is going down. In 2021 USD 5000 was a resistance level for ethereum. On January 11, 2022,ethereum was at USD 3200. Even at this point, panic sell is not happening. We may recall that in early 2021 ETH-USD was at USD 731. A possible Fed rate hike in March 2022 would make cryptocurrencies extremely vulnerable. Buying on dips is not advisable for cryptocurrencies, including ethereum.
Some experts feel that in 2022 public opposition to cryptocurrencies may grow on environmental issues. There may be further regulation by governments across the world. If Central Bank Digital Currencies are rolled out, it would have an adverse impact on cryptocurrencies.
