Bitcoin fell to a three-week low Wednesday as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's hawkish testimony to Congress spurred traders to price in a higher "terminal rate."

The leading cryptocurrency by market value fell to $21,871 during Asian trading hours, a three-week low, CoinDesk data show. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, nearly tested Tuesday's low of $1,535.

Powell on Tuesday said the central bank is likely to raise rates more than previously expected, warning that the process of pushing inflation down to the 2% target has a "long way to go."

In response to Powell's hawkish comments, traders of the Fed funds futures lifted their forecasts for the peak or terminal rate to 5.65% from around 5.47% early this week and 4.9% a month ago.

(By Omkar Godbole)