The curtailing of stimulus programs by the Federal Reserve (Fed) hit cryptocurrencies badly as they were mostly developed during a time of soft monetary policy and has therefore seen to greatly suffer during any change of the policy stance towards monetary tightening. Most of the altcoins lost over 90% during 2022, while Bitcoin prices were down only by 65%.

The rally in the crypto market was largely promoted by newcomers who were looking for easy money and high yields, and were ready to exit the market at the first sign of a correction. Low borrowing costs and negative bond yields led to a complacency of investors who forgot about diversification and money management principles. This led to a number of resonating crashes from Terra and 3AC to FTX. Genesis, which is also a prominent player in the crypto market, has recently filed for bankruptcy. The market may continue to suffer for a long time before the Fed lowers its interest rates again.