The U.S. Federal Reserve announced the Fed interest cut rate by 50 basis points to 4.75%-5% on Wednesday. This rate is considered to be the first rate cut in four years after the Fed’s most aggressive hiking cycle.
The press statement after the FOMC meetings said, “The Committee has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent, and judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance.”
After the interest rates announcement, Bitcoin shot up 1.2% to $61,000, then fell below $60,000, mostly flat over the past 24 hours. It is currently trading at $62,188 after a jump of 3.2% in the past one day. Ethereum, too, witnessed a surge of 2.81% to $2,392.44.
Crypto-centric MicroStrategy (MSTR) shares gained 1.5% through the day. But Coinbase (COIN) and investment firm Galaxy, Marathon Digital and Riot Platform were flat to negative.
Fed’s quarterly economic projection further expects median benchmark rates to come down to 4.4% by year-end, meaning some 50 bps more cuts could be expected in the next two FOMC meetings.
Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve System said during the press conference, “The US economy is in a good place and our decision today is designed to keep it there.” He said that the unemployment rate at low-4% is a good labor market, and he doesn’t see any proof that the “likelihood of a recession or downturn is elevated.” He added that further 50 bps can’t be thought of as “the new pace” for further rate cuts, as it all depends on the data.
Also Read: 16-21 Sept Events: Fed, Bank of England, Bank of Japan’s Interest Rates
