Bitcoin at $71,222... All three major U.S. stock indexes close lower

Bitcoin fell to $71,222, down 3.6% over 24 hours in the steepest drop since September, as the three major U.S. stock indexes closed lower on December 12. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.36% to 52,297.09 and the S&P 500 dropped 0.35% to 7,592.40, while Nvidia ($NVDA) closed down 4.3% after falling as much as 13% intraday; Broadcom ($AVGO) and AMD ($AMD) each gained more than 5.5%. Hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials fueled expectations of further tightening, weighing on risk assets including crypto. The synchronized pullback highlights bitcoin's sensitivity to macro policy signals even as it trades near record highs. Traders will watch upcoming Fed commentary and whether BTC holds the $70,000 level as a support floor.