Crypto Markets Falter as Rising Treasury Yields Pressure Risk Assets

Global markets traded lower on Wednesday as U.S. Treasury yields rose for a second day, putting a damper on risky assets like stocks and crypto.

Bitcoin and Ether dropped more than 1%, while Solana consolidated around the $170 level.

Meanwhile, memecoins are cooling off after a torrid week. BONK, FLOKI, and PEPE posted losses of between 8% and 10%, making them the biggest losers in the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

Rising Treasury yields often reflect expectations of tighter monetary policy from the Federal Reserve. If the market anticipates that the Fed will raise interest rates to combat inflation, this can signal a slowing economy, which is generally negative for risk assets.

Investors are already tempering their expectations for imminent interest rate cuts. The CME Fedwatch tool indicates a near-certainty of rates remaining unchanged over the summer, with just a 42% chance of a reduction in September.

IBIT Flips GBTC

BlackRock’s IBIT is now the largest Bitcoin ETF in the world after surpassing Grayscale’s GBTC yesterday. IBIT holds more than 288,000 BTC, worth nearly $20 billion at current prices.

Bitcoin ETFs saw cumulative inflows of $45 million on Tuesday, with IBIT pulling in $102 million while GBTC lost $105 million of assets.