Bitcoin (BTC) had a dramatic sell-off to start the week, sinking to $63,000 despite Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's indication of planned rate cuts.
Bitcoin (BTC) had a dramatic sell-off to start the week, sinking to $63,000 despite Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's indication of planned rate cuts.
The largest cryptocurrency by market cap lost 3.6% in the past 24 hours, dropping from $65,675 to $63,288. BTC remained flat over the past week, giving up its gains from the rally to $66,000.
Speaking in Nashville to the National Association for Business Economics, Powell dialed back market expectations of the size of future rate cuts below the recent 50-bp cut. The chairman penciled in two possible rate cuts in 2024, but both were smaller at 0.25% apiece.
"This is not a committee that feels like it's in a hurry to cut rates quickly," Powell underscored.
These comments come less than two weeks after the FOMC's first rate cut since March 2020. Still, market expectations have retreated to a more dovish consensus for the Fed's November meeting, while December is poised to become slightly more aggressive.
The CME Group's FedWatch Tool shows that there is almost a 48% chance of a 0.5% rate cut in the December 18 FOMC meeting.
Despite the current retracement, Bitcoin still remains resilient to broader performance. Per data from CoinGlass, Bitcoin is on track to close Q3 with a 0.6% gain and up 7% for September, historically one of the most bearish months.
The cryptocurrency had slumped early in the month, losing 11% in the first week before impressively recovering following the Fed's rate cut announcement.
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