Cryptocurrency is having another meltdown moment, and the reasons why shed light on how our new environment of higher inflation and higher interest rates will change the world.

Bitcoin is down enormously, falling 26% in the last month. But the well-known cryptocurrency is a relative Rock of Gibraltar compared to many other, lesser-known coins collapsing around it. The second biggest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, is down 34% in the same period and the “joke” cryptocurrency Dogecoin is down 38%. A coin called Orion is down 85%. It’s a bloodbath.

The following chart shows changes in Bitcoin and Ethereum, measured against the US dollar, over the last year. For the final six months of 2021 they were a good bet. Recently they became a very bad bet again.