Buckle up: The cryptocurrency crash has arrived Then the wheels fell off the wagon, the party candles blew out, and Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" got stuck on repeat in the CD player. The most interesting aspect of the cryptocurrency crash However, what's truly noteworthy about the bubble popping for virtual currencies is that it's occurring at the exact same time that the U.S. stock market is rolling over. Fears about exceptionally strong economic growth leading to higher inflation and quicker interest rate hikes primarily sparked the sell-off, but computer-driven selling has also been blamed.