BTC Shrinks towards $42,000 Following Interest Rates Hike

Bitcoin (BTC), the largest crypto by market capitalization, slipped to $42,200 late Monday from as high as $43,400 earlier in the day. At press time, it was lower by 1.2% over the past 24 hours.

Almost all cryptocurrencies endured similar or greater losses during the day, highlighted by the broad-market crypto index CoinDesk20's 1.3% decline, with 18 assets in that gauge declining. Native token of Chainlink (LINK), a software platform that connects blockchains with the outside world, was the biggest gainer among CD20 constituents with a modest 2% advance during the day, coindesk.com reported. 

The slump in crypto prices happened as the 10-year US Treasury bond yield jumped another 14 basis points during the day, extending its two-session rise to 30 basis points.

Fueling the move was a Sunday night 60 Minutes appearance by US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at which he confirmed that the Fed has little intention of cutting rates in March, as markets had previously expected, the report added.