The Federal Reserve has released official minutes from its September meeting, revealing that half of its members expect two more interest rate cuts by the end of the year.
Bitcoin reaches $124,000 as Fed minutes suggest accelerated easing
President Donald Trump is probably smiling somewhere after reading the official minutes of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting released Wednesday. The minutes reveal a dovish sentiment among Fed officials, with “about half” of Federal Open Market Committee members expecting two more rate cuts by the end of 2025. Bitcoin jumped on the news, briefly retreating from its recently minted all-time high of $126,198.07, before once again topping $124,000.
After keeping interest rates at the same level for nearly a year, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) last month agreed to finally cut rates by 25 basis points, citing weak employment data. President Trump publicly criticized Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for resisting rate cuts, disparagingly calling him “too slow.”
In his defense, Mr. Powell is simply following the central bank’s dual mandate to promote price stability and high employment. And even though the annual rate of inflation in September was 2.9%, well above the Fed’s 2% target, the unexpected rise in unemployment forced Powell and the rest of the FOMC to cut interest rates.
And it was weakness in the job market that caused the shift from hawkish to dovish among FOMC members, as reflected in the minutes released today. Add to that the ongoing government shutdown that will only worsen the employment situation and raise the possibility of two more interest rate cuts, which should bode well for the dominant cryptocurrency.
The minutes refer to a market expectations survey conducted by the FOMC’s Open Market Desk, which states, “The majority of survey respondents expect at least two 25 basis point rate cuts by year-end, and about half expect three rate cuts by then.”
Overview of market indicators
Bitcoin was trading at $123,506.78 at the time of reporting, up 1.7% in 24 hours and 5.19% on a weekly basis, according to data from Coinmarketcap. The digital asset fluctuated between $121,119.18 and $124,167.09.
(BTC Price/Trading View)
The 24-hour trading volume decreased by 12.06% to $68.48 billion, but the market capitalization increased by 1.86% to $2.46 trillion. Bitcoin’s dominance rose by 0.02%, breaking through the 59% threshold, which remained at 59.04% at the time of writing.
(BTC Dominance / Trading View)
Total open interest in Bitcoin futures was nearly flat, declining slightly by 0.24% to $90.94 billion, according to data from Coinglass. Today’s Bitcoin liquidation amount also fell to $77.77 million. Short sellers accounted for the bulk of the total liquidation, with $52.22 million extinguished and the remaining $25.55 million in long-term liquidation.
