Bitcoin Price Slides to $22K as Powell Warns on Inflation

Inflationary pressures are running higher than expected, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in prepared remarks before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell about 1.6% to below $22,000 in the immediate aftermath of the release of the remarks. The price has bounced a bit since, recently trading at $22,100, while the S&P 500 was down 0.75%.

"The data from January on employment, consumer spending, manufacturing production and inflation have partly reversed the softening [inflation] trends," Powell said.

While allowing that unseasonably warm weather in January might be responsible for the higher-than-expected inflation figures, Powell said the "process" of returning inflation to the Fed's target of 2% "has a long way to go and is likely to be bumpy."