Bitcoin sits steady today, trading around $122,000. It’s like the cryptocurrency market is holding its breath. Everyone is waiting to hear what Jerome Powell, head of the U.S. Federal Reserve, will say. His words could guide where interest rates go for the rest of the year.
Data from CoinGecko shows Bitcoin’s price at $122,654 as of 7:24 AM (ET). This is a slight dip of 0.5% in the last day. The whole crypto world has hit pause. They are all tuned in for Powell’s speech at the Community Banking Conference in Washington, set for 12:30 GMT. Investors want clues about the Fed’s next moves. This is extra important because a partial U.S. government shutdown has stopped key economic reports, like those on inflation and jobs, from coming out. The Fed usually uses these reports to decide on interest rates.
What the Fed Said Last Time and What’s Expected
The Fed’s meeting notes from September brought some news. Officials agreed to cut interest rates by a quarter-point to start. This kind of move usually helps risky assets, like cryptocurrencies. But there was a catch: they couldn’t agree on how many more cuts would follow this year. Some talked about two, others three. The summary showed that 19 officials expected at least two more rate cuts. Seven did not think more reductions would happen. A graph from last month hinted that most favored two more rate cuts. This would put the main rate in the 3.50 – 3.75% range.
Discussions focused a lot on a weakening job market. They also looked at early signs that inflation might speed up again. This uncertainty has made markets nervous. Traders are keen for any signal from Powell about another rate cut possibly coming in October. The U.S. dollar has gotten stronger, hitting its highest point in two months. This has put more pressure on Bitcoin. On Wednesday, Bitcoin fell below a key support level at $123,000. Still, the main cryptocurrency showed signs of bouncing back. It briefly retook $123,000 after hitting a record high of $126,000 on Monday.
Crypto Market Moves and Bitcoin ETFs
Bitcoin’s performance also played out in the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). On Wednesday, the group of 12 funds saw money flowing in for the eighth day in a row. They pulled in $440.73 million in just one day. So far this week, they’ve gathered a total of $2.5 billion, according to data from SoSoValue. These large inflows show that big institutions are increasingly interested in Bitcoin, even with recent price swings.
Looking at the broader picture, the cryptocurrency market is a mixed bag. Bitcoin is 2.9% below its all-time record. Other major cryptocurrencies, though, have fallen in the last 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) dropped 2.6%. Binance Coin (BNB) fell 2.7%. XRP saw a 1.8% decrease. The total value of all digital coins has also gone down by 0.7%, now sitting at $4.27 trillion, as reported by CoinGecko.
Waiting for Powell’s Hints
The dollar’s recent strength and the unclear path of money policy have made things tough for Bitcoin and other digital assets. The Fed’s notes highlighted worries about a weak job market. This pushed policymakers to cut the main overnight lending rate. However, the lack of new economic data due to the government shutdown makes future plans harder to guess. This leaves markets on edge.
Powell’s speech is key. It will show if the Fed plans to cut rates more aggressively, which could boost risky assets. Or if they will take a more careful approach, which might keep Bitcoin under pressure. For now, crypto investors are watching closely. Bitcoin is stable around $122,000 as the market waits for some clear direction.