Bitcoin Touches $24,000 as Federal Reserve Enforces Smaller Interest Rate Hike
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Bitcoin Touches $24,000 as Federal Reserve Enforces Smaller Interest Rate Hike

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Created 1yr ago, last updated 1yr ago

Bitcoin wasn't alone in rallying hard, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq index hitting its highest level since September 2022.

Bitcoin Touches $24,000 as Federal Reserve Enforces Smaller Interest Rate Hike

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Bitcoin briefly headed above $24,000 on Wednesday as the markets reacted positively to the Federal Reserve's latest announcement on interest rates.

The world's biggest cryptocurrency was initially flat when the U.S. central bank announced that its base rate would increase by 0.25 percentage points.

This is a smaller hike than the rises of 0.5 and 0.75 percentage points seen during 2022 as the Fed battled to bring red-hot inflation under control.

And while chairman Jay Powell does believe that inflation is beginning to cool down again, he did warn that further rate increases will be necessary in the months ahead.

For the current campaign of hikes to end, Powell warned there will need to be "substantially more evidence to be confident that inflation is on a sustained downward path."

There have been fears that the Fed's aggressive approach could tip the U.S. into recession, all while making borrowing costs unsustainably high for businesses and consumers alike.

Bitcoin wasn't alone in rallying hard, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq index hitting its highest level since September 2022.

The Bank of England and the European Central Bank followed the Fed in reviewing their interest rates on Thursday — with both opting for a rise of 0.5 percentage points.

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