A
broad
weekend
selloff
in
crypto
accelerated
during
Sunday
evening
U.S.
hours,
sending
bitcoin
(BTC)
plunging
to
levels
not
seen
since
February
and
ether
(ETH)
back
to
prices
not
seen
since
December.
Bitcoin
is
lower
by
12%
over
the
past
24
hours
and
20%
on
a
week-over-week
basis.
Now
down
21%
over
the
past
24
hours
and
30%
over
the
past
week,
ether
(ETH)
has
given
up
the
entirety
of
its
year-to-date
gain,
and
is
off
by
roughly
3%
since
Jan.
1.
The
broader
CoinDesk
20
Index
is
down
12%
over
the
past
24
hours.
The
trigger
for
what’s
now
become
a
massive
correction
in
crypto
and
traditional
markets
just
might
have
been
the
Bank
of
Japan,
which
last
week
hiked
its
benchmark
interest
rate.
That
monetary
tightening
sent
the
yen
shooting
higher
and
the
country’s
Nikkei
stock
index
tumbling.
Down
another
6%
early
Monday,
the
Nikkei
is
now
lower
by
roughly
15%
over
the
past
three
sessions
and
20%
from
a
mid-July
peak.
The
action
in
Japan
spread
to
the
U.S.,
where
the
Nasdaq
slid
more
than
5%
in
last
week’s
final
two
sessions.
Nasdaq
futures
are
lower
by
2.5%
in
Sunday
evening
action.
In
addition
to
the
Bank
of
Japan’s
somewhat
unexpected
hawkishness
last
week,
the
U.S.
Federal
Reserve
also
surprised
a
few
– not
by
holding
rates
steady,
but
instead
by
appearing
somewhat
ambivalent
about
cutting
rates
in
September,
which
nearly
all
market
participants
assumed
was
a
sure
thing.
Whether
the
Fed
made
a
policy
error
remains
to
be
seen,
but
markets
are
setting
their
own
agenda
at
the
moment.
Traders
have
priced
in
a
100%
chance
of
lower
U.S.
base
rates
in
September,
with
a
71%
chance
of
50
basis
points
in
rate
cuts
and
just
a
29%
chance
of
a
25
basis
point
move.
Looking
further
out
on
the
maturity
curve,
the
U.S.
10-year
Treasury
yield
has
tumbled
to
3.75%
on
Sunday
evening
versus
4.25%
just
one
week
ago
and
a
full
150-175
basis
points
less
than
the
current
fed
funds
target
of
5.25%-5.50%.