Crypto, traditional markets see bump as Fed raises rates

Both crypto and traditional markets saw significant gains overnight Monday in Asia after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a 75-basis point interest rate increase to battle the worst inflation in the country in some 40 years.

Fast facts

• Interest rates in the U.S. are now running at a 2.25% to 2.50% range in the fastest tightening of rates since the 1980s.
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell rejected the notion the U.S. was in a recession due to the current strong employment rate.
• Powell acknowledged the pain that the sharp increase was causing low-income earners but said this aggressive fiscal tightening policy was necessary to combat runaway inflation.
• All major tokens were trading up in the 24 hours before Asian business hours on Monday, with Bitcoin gaining over 8% and Ethereum 14.5% to trade at US$22,840 and US$1,625, respectively.
• The crypto market cap was back above US$1 trillion dollars for the first time since a brief period on Monday, according to CoinMarketCap.
• The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite Index finished trading up 4%, while the S&P 500 Index closed the day up 2.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.3%.

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