Bitcoin and other major assets like Ethereum, XRP, and Dogecoin fell fast after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spoke and announced an expected interest rate cut. The move apparently pushed investors away from “risk-on” assets like crypto and U.S. equities on word that the central bank would not cut aggressively in 2025.
The largest digital asset by market cap is now trading for $101,430 after plunging following the Fed press conference. In the past 24 hours, the asset has dropped by nearly 5%, falling sharply after setting a new all-time high price above $108,000 early Tuesday.
XRP is down 10% on the day, tacking on to earlier losses after a Tuesday spike, while Dogecoin is down 9% as it slides to a price of $0.363—the lowest mark seen in a month for the top meme coin.
The Fed cut interest rates Wednesday again by 25 basis points. But Powell said that the bank “can therefore be more cautious as we consider further adjustments to our policy rate.” Stocks similarly dipped on the news as traders took caution.
Traders betting on the price of cryptocurrencies to go up in the future had their long positions liquidated. In the past 24 hours, over $690 million in future bets were closed, according to CoinGlass. Most of that number was in long positions, and over $300 million worth of total liquidations came within the last hour alone.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have largely benefited from low interest rates because they—like equities—tend to experience more volatile price movements.
America’s central bank in 2022 aggressively hiked interest rates in a bid to tame inflation following the COVID-19 pandemic, making Bitcoin less attractive.
Now the narrative has changed and Bitcoin only on Tuesday hit a new all-time high price above $108,000, marking the third straight day of a new peak. President-elect Donald Trump has also said—along with other Republicans—that the United States could hold the cryptocurrency in a strategic reserve.
But when asked on Wednesday about such a plan by a reporter, Powell said that the Federal Reserve was “not allowed to own Bitcoin” and “not looking for a law change.”
Edited by Andrew Hayward
Editor’s note: This story was updated after publication with additional details.
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