Bitcoin price fell on Thursday, extending a recent decline and taking little support from a rally on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve flagged the possibility of a September interest rate cut.
Sentiment towards crypto markets was largely constrained by fears of a mass sale event by the U.S. government, which was seen mobilizing about $2 billion worth of Bitcoin earlier this week.
A boost from crypto-positive promises from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump also largely ran dry, after a Bloomberg poll showed Democratic frontrunner Kamala Harris wiped out Trump’s lead in seven battleground states.
Bitcoin fell 2.9% in the past 24 hours to $64,256.2 by 02:01 ET, and had fallen as far as $63,599.5 earlier in the day.
Fed talks rate cuts, but Bitcoin sees little price action The Fed kept interest rates steady as widely expected on Wednesday, with Chair Jerome Powell flagging more progress towards cooling inflation and a softer labor market.
Powell explicitly mentioned the possibility of a September rate cut, especially in the event of more favorable data. His comments triggered a sharp rally on Wall Street.
Optimism over the Fed, coupled with positive earnings from the technology sector, kept traders largely biased towards equities, even as the prospect of lower U.S. interest rates presented a positive outlook for crypto.
Crypto markets thrive in low-rate environments, as increased liquidity benefits their speculative nature.
But beyond U.S. markets, risk appetite in other parts of the globe was less enthusiastic. Japanese markets tumbled after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates and flagged more potential increases on growing resilience in the Japanese economy. The yen surged on the BOJ’s move, which put Bitcoin at a near three-week low against the currency.
Increased geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, after the killing of a Hamas leader in Iran, also kept risk appetite frail.
Crypto price today: XRP rally stalls, altcoins sink Broader crypto markets tracked a decline in Bitcoin, with XRP sliding 5.7% as it reversed course from a recent rally. The token had risen sharply on unfounded rumors that Ripple, the firm that issues XRP, was close to reaching a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over a long-running lawsuit.
World no.2 token Ether fell 3.7% to $3,179.26 an ounce, while SOL and ADA lost 6.9% and 5.1%, respectively.
Among meme tokens, DOGE fell 3.9%.
