Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, fell below $2,000 on Friday, May 20, as the crypto market continues to suffer.

Notably, the number of Ethereum addresses in a loss reached a 2-year high of 33,403,723.452, at press time, as noted by the on-chain metrics platform Glassnode in a tweet on May 21.   

Furthermore, the hourly chart shows that the number of addresses in a loss started to climb at the start of 2022. 

Crypto market feels the effects of a rate hike 

The market has been trying to digest the aggressive approach by the Federal Reserve (Fed) to tame inflation by raising interest rates. Risk asset prices have been extremely volatile throughout the year, with ETH prices touching $1,800 last week, representing its lowest point since July 2021. 

Usually, Ethereum prices follow the price action of Bitcoin; however, the massive software update called the merge is weighing over the future of the token.

Nonetheless, market participants would argue that the crypto market reflects global worries around the war in Ukraine, surging inflation, and the U.S. government’s changing monetary policy. More recently, governments have shown interest in regulating the crypto market, which could spook investors further. 

Finally, as things stand, the price of Ethereum at press time was at $1,966, which is a 3.33% drop on the day and 0.55% across the previous seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data. Its market cap is currently $237.7 billion. 

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