Cryptocurrency prices and investor sentiment reversed course on Dec. 15 after Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell confirmed the bank’s plan to hike interest rates in 2022 and slow down the bond purchasing program that had been in play since the emergence of the coronavirus in March 2020.

Following the announcement, (BTC) price tacked on a 1.65% gain, bringing the price above $49,000 and Ether trekked back above the $4,000 mark. Altcoins followed suit with their usual double-digit gains and for the moment, it appears as if bulls have taken back control of the market.