Join Cointelegraph host and analyst Benton Yaun alongside resident market experts Jordan Finneseth and Marcel Pechman as they break down the latest news in the markets this week. Here’s what to expect in this week’s markets news breakdown: 

• The price of Bitcoin 

  BTC

  

  $20,923

   climbed to $49,000 after news that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates and curtail its bond-buying program. Why did this announcement have an impact on Bitcoin?
• Top executives from six major crypto companies faced the United States House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee during a special hearing on digital assets on Dec. 8. With the largely positive response from Washington, has crypto finally turned a corner to be ready for business with the government?
• Once again, a tweet from Tesla CEO Elon Musk caused the price of Dogecoin 

  DOGE

  

  $0.09

   to suddenly gain 25%. Will DOGE become the only cryptocurrency you can buy Tesla merch with?

After the market news update, the hosts chat with special guest Sam Bourgi, business editor at Cointelegraph, about the current condition of the markets, inflation rates, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and whether we should all be preparing ourselves for the metaverse boom.

Using insights from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, a platform for crypto traders who want to stay one step ahead of the market, the Cointelegraph experts identify two altcoins that stood out this week: FLUX and Helium’s HNT.

Finally, Cointelegraph market analyst Pechman explains how to analyze smart contract platforms.

Do you have a question about a coin or topic not covered here? Don’t worry! Join the YouTube chat room and write your questions there. The person with the most interesting comment or question will be given a free month of Cointelegraph Markets Pro, worth $100!

“The Market Report” streams live every Thursday at 12:00 pm ET (5:00 pm UTC), so be sure to head on over to Cointelegraph’s YouTube page, and smash that like and subscribe button for all our future videos and updates.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here and during the show are the analysts’ alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.