Hype over the approval of exchange-traded funds that directly track Ether also took a back seat while the Securities and Exchange Commission engages with fund managers over their applications to list such products.
Last week, the SEC approved applications from major exchanges to list a spot Ether ETF, triggering a sharp rally in the token and broader crypto markets.
Bitcoin had fallen by 0.5% in the past 24 hours to $68,289.3 by 09:08 ET (13:08 GMT). Ether sank 0.4% to $3,899.26, retreating from two-month highs touched over the weekend.
Fears of higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates remained squarely in focus, especially ahead of the release of the monthly personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index on Friday.
The reading is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, and is likely to factor into the central bank’s outlook on rates.
Sentiment towards crypto and other risk-driven assets was dented by growing suspicions that the Fed is in no rush to bring rates down from more than two-decade highs. A string of officials from the central bank have recently flagged that they need to see more proof inflation is sustainably cooling toward their 2% target before rolling out any cuts.
The notion has kept Bitcoin comfortably within a trading range established over nearly three months, and has also limited bigger gains in Ether.
High rates bode poorly for speculative assets such as crypto, given that they limit liquidity that can be invested in the space, and also push up the attractiveness of conventional, low-risk investments such as the U.S. dollar and Treasuries.
Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.
Source: Cryptocurrency - investing.com
