According to data released on Thursday, the US economy shrank by 0.9% during the second quarter of 2022.

Following a decline of 1.6% in the first quarter the US economy shrunk by 0.9%, according to Thursday's advanced estimate – which is a technical recession by some definitions.

source: tradingeconomics.com

A Bloomberg survey of economists ahead of time found the median estimate for annualised growth to be 0.5% – with the actual numbers missing the mark considerably.

A recession can be defined differently based on regions, but is generally accepted as a "period between a peak of economic activity and its subsequent trough, or lowest point." Technical definitions can also include two successive quarters of negative economic growth. 

The National Bureau of Economic Research says recessions involve a "significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and lasts more than a few months." 

S&P 500 futures were down by 0.33% ahead of the news, while the Nasdaq-100 Composite lost 0.74%. 

Crypto markets can oftentimes be highly correlated with equities, and a choppy macro environment could put further downward pressure on prices. Trading in bitcoin and ether was relatively flat on Thursday; both were down 0.3% and 0.4% respectively following the news.