Bitcoin fell for the fifth time in six sessions, dropping more than 5% on the day to below $21,000 a coin. Ethereum fell 10% on the day to $1,438 a coin. Smaller virtual currencies like Avalanche and Solana also saw big drops.
Cryptocurrencies are wobbling again ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate hike on Wednesday and a slew of earnings from big tech companies.
The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates for the second time this week by 75 basis points, and second-quarter GDP data due on Thursday may show a "technical recession" of two consecutive quarters of contraction. Past fed rate hikes have ultimately dampened sentiment.
Given the correlation between tech stocks and bitcoin, poor quarterly earnings from tech stocks could also weigh on bitcoin.
On Monday, the S&P and Dow eked out gains after a volatile session, with the Nasdaq down 0.43 percent. Star tech stocks were all lower on the eve of quarterly earnings, with Meta Platforms(Meta.US) down 1.55% and Amazon (AMz.us) down more than 1%. It is reported that Meta advertising revenue in the second quarter or the first year-on-year decline in history. Separately, A cut in guidance from Wal-Mart Stores inc (WMT.US) sent retail shares tumbling, and Amazon fell nearly 4 percent in after-hours trading.
Still, some forecasters believe bitcoin's darkest days are over, after plunging more than 50% this year.
Antoni Trenchev, co-founder of cryptocurrency lender Nexo, and Rick Bensignor, CEO of Bensignor Investment Strategies, both expect bitcoin to hit $30,000, That's a level bitcoin could reach before it runs into some technical resistance.