The price of Bitcoin experienced a significant decline on Thursday morning, dropping into the low $107,000s as traders processed cautious statements from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and mixed outcomes from the recent Trump–Xi meeting.
This decline wiped out last week’s gains, further extending Bitcoin’s underwhelming performance in October, hindered by macroeconomic challenges and the state of U.S.-China trade relations.
By early Thursday, the largest cryptocurrency had fallen to $107,472, as reported by Bitcoin Magazine Pro data, having briefly dipped to $107,925 overnight.
Bitcoin price reacts to Jerome Powell’s comments
This movement followed the Fed’s 25-basis-point rate reduction on Wednesday — its second cut of 2025 — which set the target range at 3.75%–4%. Although this decision was largely expected, Powell emphasized that further easing this year remains uncertain.
Powell noted “strongly differing views among policymakers” during his post-meeting press conference, mentioning that the Fed might “wait a cycle” before contemplating another cut.
Such remarks unsettled markets that had largely anticipated a December cut, with CME FedWatch data indicating probabilities for additional action plummeting from 90% to 71% following his statements.
Risk assets generally declined yesterday. The S&P 500 closed unchanged, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite saw a slight gain of 0.6%. As this article is being written, Thursday’s market outlook appears dim as well.
Bitcoin, which was trading around $116,000 earlier in the week, plummeted as Powell spoke, briefly dipping to $109,000 amid a sharp sell-off before recovering to around $111,000 overnight.
The Fed’s tone overshadowed what seemed to be a favorable outcome from the Trump–Xi summit. After the meeting, President Trump announced that China would “immediately resume soybean purchases” and that “all rare-earth issues have been resolved.”
Nonetheless, traders appeared to remain cautious, concentrating on the Fed’s hawkish shift and the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, which is now entering its fourth week.
Institutional interest also displayed early signs of weakness. U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $470.7 million in outflows on Wednesday, breaking a four-day inflow streak and marking the largest daily outflow since October 16, according to Bitcoin Magazine Pro data.
Will the bitcoin price react to Quantitative Tightening ending?
Powell did confirm that the Fed is approaching the conclusion of its Quantitative Tightening (QT) program — a measure that could eventually enhance liquidity in risk assets.
Since 2022, QT has removed nearly $1 trillion from the Fed’s balance sheet by allowing Treasury and mortgage assets to mature without reinvestment.
Powell indicated that this process might wrap up by December but cautioned that future decisions will remain contingent on data. Despite the notable correction, analysts are divided regarding Bitcoin’s short-term trajectory.
