BREAKING: BTC Plunges Below $19,000 as Inflation Soars

BREAKING: BTC Plunges Below $19,000 as Inflation Soars

After the Labor Department announced that the consumer price index (CPI) had jumped by a staggering 9.1 percent, Bitcoin, the most valuable cryptocurrency by market capitalization, fell to an intraday low of $18,915.

The largest cryptocurrency in the world has so far lost more than 4.5% in response to the news, dropping to its lowest point since July 4.

The U.S. Federal Reserve will be under even greater pressure to raise interest rates as a result of the higher-than-expected inflation report. Following the CPI data, Fed Funds futures are currently pricing in an 80 basis point hike in interest rates. Undoubtedly, this won't be good for the prices of cryptocurrencies.

It is unclear if the Fed would choose to implement a massive 100 basis point increase, which would be disastrous for speculative investments. Right now, the swaps market is pricing in a one-in-three probability that the Fed will take such drastic measures to rein in inflation.