Key Points
- Bitcoin remains over $67,000, rising alongside Wall Street ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony.
- Anticipation of Fed rate cuts and cooling inflation data are key influences on the market.
Bitcoin, the largest digital asset by market capitalization, is maintaining its position above $67,000. This comes as Wall Street experiences gains in midday trading, all in anticipation of the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's concluding remarks on U.S. monetary policy before the Senate Banking Committee.
At 11:30 a.m. ET, Bitcoin was valued at $67,199, marking an increase of about 1% in the past 24 hours. Concurrently, U.S. indices have been on the rise. Major equities have recovered from losses earlier in the week, with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the Nasdaq Composite all seeing gains.
Market Influences
One of the factors supporting risk assets is the affirmation by Fed officials, including Jerome Powell, that the Fed is still on track to cut rates this year. This has led to a slight decrease in the U.S. dollar's value. Even gold has reached all-time highs. Powell had previously informed the U.S House Financial Services Committee that he anticipates interest rate cuts later this year, though he did not specify when.
Rate Cuts and Inflation
There is growing anticipation of Fed rate cuts. Powell's testimony on Capitol Hill about interest-rate policy is eagerly awaited. According to analysts, a rate cut move by the U.S. central bank largely depends on the cooling of inflation data over the next few months. The consensus is that the Fed just needs a few more months of similar inflation data as previous months to start cutting rates this year.
Currently, there is a 97% chance that the Fed funds rate will remain at its current target range of 5.25%–5.50% this month. However, interest rate traders' forecasts for the June Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting indicate a 56.9% probability of a rate cut in that month.
Meanwhile, the GM 30 Index, which represents a selection of the top 30 cryptocurrencies, has increased by 2.85% to 147.78 in the past 24 hours.
