The looming fear of rising interest rates spooked traders at the start of the week into selling anything and everything, causing global stocks to post their worst day in almost two years. If it wasn’t an all-out market panic, it came pretty close.

Cryptocurrencies bled out along with other equities on the Nasdaq — bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency, dipped below the $30,000 mark and has drifted 14% lower since 6 May.