If you’re still holding out hope that the Federal Reserve will be able to engineer a soft landing in the US economy, abandon it.

Digital finance is booming, with the value of cryptocurrencies outstanding reaching more than $2 trillion from almost nothing a decade ago – almost entirely without regulatory oversight to protect investors and the broader financial system. This is not likely to end well, unless officials intervene in a thoughtful way.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has bitten the bullet: At their policy-making meeting next week, in recognition of persistent high inflation, officials will announce a speedier tapering of asset purchases that have been supporting economic growth.

Investors are increasingly betting that the Federal Reserve will have to raise interest rates sooner than previously expected to keep inflation in check. A few months ago, futures prices implied that “liftoff” from the current near-zero level wouldn’t occur until 2023 or later; now they suggest it’ll happen near the middle of next year.