Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum Experience Slight Increase Following Federal Reserve Meeting Minutes
Bitcoin’s value has surged following the release of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s July meeting minutes, signaling an upcoming interest rate cut in September. The majority of market observers and investors anticipate this move.
Currently, Bitcoin is priced at $60,500, with a 2% increase in the last 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, is also experiencing a slight uptick, trading at $2,640, marking a 1.8% rise.
The minutes from the Fed meeting revealed that most officials reached a consensus on the necessity of lowering interest rates depending on future economic data.
Attention now turns to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who is scheduled to speak at the Jackson Hole Monetary Policy Symposium in Wyoming on Friday. Powell is expected to provide more insights into the timeline for rate cuts.
In response to the high inflation rates following the Covid-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve had been aggressively raising rates since 2022. Initially, this tightening negatively impacted both stocks and cryptocurrencies, as investors tended to shy away from these assets when borrowing costs were high.
However, over the past year, these assets have performed well. The growth in Artificial Intelligence and the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs have attracted significant investment into U.S. equities and cryptocurrencies.
The Federal Reserve’s objective is to bring inflation down to 2%. The recent minutes indicated progress towards this goal, noting that inflation had eased over the past year but remained elevated.
Participants at the meeting acknowledged that inflation had moderated and moved closer to the Committee’s 2% target. The central bank’s efforts to manage inflation are ongoing.
As the Federal Reserve continues its efforts to stabilize inflation, the market eagerly awaits further updates and guidance from Powell’s speech at the upcoming symposium.