Crypto prices pare initial gains after Fed minutes show a slow down 'soon'
Quick Take
- Crypto markets rose in anticipation of the release of the FOMC’s Nov. 1-2 meeting minutes, only to come back down afterward to previous levels.
- The policy committee minutes indicated that the increase in interest rates will soon start to slow down.
Crypto prices rose and quickly came back down upon the release of the minutes showing that the Fed is going to "slow" down its hikes.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) — which decides U.S. central bank policy — published minutes from its Nov. 1-2 meeting that revealed a consensus between the committee, with the Board of Governors voting unanimously to raise the interest rate on Nov 2. The committee is in agreement that the Fed needs to slow rate hikes, but less so on the end-point.
"A number of participants observed that, as monetary policy approached a stance that was sufficiently restrictive to achieve the Committee’s goals, it would become appropriate to slow the pace of increase in the target range for the federal funds rate," the minutes read. "In addition, a substantial majority of participants judged that a slowing in the pace of increase would likely soon be appropriate."
Cryptocurrencies and crypto-related equities had been trading higher. They climbed further in the hour before the release, only to come back down to previous levels.
Bitcoin was trading at around $16,500 at the time of publication, while the total crypto market cap was at around $781 billion, according to data from TradingView.
The DXY extended losses, shedding 0.92% to trade at $106.165 as of 2:43 PM ET. A weaker U.S. dollar is positive for bitcoin, since its price in dollars moves higher when the dollar weakens.
Following the policy team's last meeting, the Fed increased interest rates by 75-basis points for the fourth consecutive time. The committee chair and head of the Fed Jerome Powell sent markets into a tizzy in his ensuing press conference. Chair Powell said the ultimate level of rates will be higher than previously expected.
The odds of the FOMC increasing rates by 50 basis points at the meeting on Dec. 14 appear to be 76%, according to the CME's FedWatch tool.
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