Bitcoin (BTC) dipped to its lowest price in over a month after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell doubled down on restrictive monetary policy early Friday at the central bank’s Economic Symposium.
The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization hit a low of $20,549 but is now trading around $20,666, down 4.3% over the past 24 hours and below the $21,000 perch BTC had occupied as investors waited for Powell’s much-anticipated speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The Federal Open Market Committee’s decision whether to raise rates by 50 or 75 basis points at its next meeting in September will “depend on the totality of the incoming data and the evolving outlook,” Powell said, referring to the Fed’s rate-setting committee.
Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, wrote in an email that traders will have to anticipate whether risk aversion will push bitcoin’s price down to the $20,000 level.
“Risky assets are struggling as Powell’s fight against inflation will remain aggressive, even as it will trigger an economic slowdown,” Moya wrote.
Most altcoins also fell following Powell’s speech, with FLOW the biggest loser, dropping 11% over the past 24 hours. Ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap after bitcoin, was down 8.5%.
The S&P 500 fell 3.25%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 3.8% as equity investors responded negatively to Powell’s remarks.
Latest Prices
●Bitcoin (BTC): $20,671 −4.2%
●Ether (ETH): $1,563 −8.5%
●S&P 500 daily close: 4,057.68 −3.4%
●Gold: $1,750 per troy ounce −0.5%
●Ten-year Treasury yield daily close: 3.04% +0.009
Bitcoin, ether and gold prices are taken at approximately 4pm New York time. Bitcoin is the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (XBX); Ether is the CoinDesk Ether Price Index (ETX); Gold is the COMEX spot price. Information about CoinDesk Indices can be found at coindesk.com/indices.
