Cryptocurrencies suffered a second day of losses after the Federal Reserve approved a lesser interest rate hike than previous ones this year on Dec. 14. The Fed has raised interest rates by 75 basis points four times this year to curb inflation, which is currently at a 40-year high in the United States.

The Federal Reserve of the United States raised interest rates by 50 basis points this time. This move demonstrated to investors that, despite the modest rate increase, the Fed may sustain its aggressive monetary policy in 2023. The markets reacted to the news, which may indicate uncertainty in the coming year of 2023. At the time of publication, most of the crypto market remained in the red, with several cryptocurrencies posting losses between 5% and 10%.

Bitcoin has dipped beneath its much-shielded $17,000 mark, down 3.1% in the last 24 hours. According to Coinglass data, about $112 million in overleveraged positions have been blown out across the whole market, with Bitcoin and Ethereum accounting for the majority. Ethereum suffered more liquidations than Bitcoin due to larger 24-hour losses.

The second largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum (ETH), posted nearly $41 million in liquidations, while Bitcoin (BTC) posted roughly $33 million. XRP (XRP) and Cardano (ADA) saw $1.61 million and $1.27 million in liquidations, respectively.