Bitcoin and Ether were trading lower in anticipation of an upcoming U.S. Fed meeting that is widely expected to raise interest rates by 75 basis points.
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Fast facts
- Bitcoin was trading at US$21,130 at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday HKT, down 3.3% in the past 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
- The price of Ethereum fell by 5.5% in 24 hours to US$1,430, the data showed.
- The Federal Open Market Committee, set to meet on Wednesday and Thursday, is expected to raise interest rates by 75 basis points for the second straight month.
- The U.S. Consumer Price Index jumped 9.1% in June from a year ago, recording a four-decade high.
- Economists are predicting a slower pace of interest-rate increases after the anticipated increase this week, according to a Bloomberg survey.
See related article: Bitcoin, Ether recover as Fed guidance reduces policy uncertainty