Bitcoin Looks Like a Faded Fad as Fed Goes All In on Rate Hikes
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What is Bitcoin for, exactly? While that’s been a tricky question to answer in years past, it’s safe to say that right now, it’s definitely not for preservation of wealth. The shiny new thing is down 60% YTD against the grimy old thing (aka the USD). More losses may follow as the Fed hikes, with the bank’s next installment due midweek.
Bitcoin’s collapse makes for a decent new entry in the tulip mania archives. Since peaking last November, it’s down 73%. That’s quite a train wreck. With delicious irony, the same week it registered a record, the Fed warned of perilous plunges for risky assets should the economy take a turn for the worse. As the US central bank responded belatedly to inflation, Bitcoin tanked.