Cryptocurrency investors were preparing for the US Federal Reserve’s annual conference in Jackson Hole on Friday, where Chair Jerome Powell’s statements could signal key insights regarding interest rate policy ahead of September’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
Bitcoin (BTC) briefly dropped to $112,565 on Wednesday, the lowest it has been in two weeks since Aug. 3, as reported by Cointelegraph.
The decline of Bitcoin below $113,000 highlighted “increasing anxiety in the market,” with macroeconomic uncertainties regarding Powell’s address triggering “fear spikes” among digital asset traders, as noted by Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget exchange.
“Allowing the narratives to stabilize and liquidity to return could create opportunities for a rebound,” the analyst mentioned to Cointelegraph, adding that if the $112,000 support holds until the speech, it might set the stage for “the next phase of the bull run rather than a reset.”
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Corporations continue to accumulate Bitcoin
Concerns among investors regarding a potential delay in interest rate cuts were intensified on Aug. 12, after the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) revealed consumer prices increased 2.7% year-over-year, remaining consistent with June figures yet significantly above the Fed’s 2% target.
In the wake of the CPI announcement, expectations for an interest rate cut declined by over 12%, dropping to 82% on Wednesday from over 94% the previous week, as per the latest analysis from the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
The initial interest rate reduction of 2025 may act as a significant market catalyst, raising expectations for two or three overall rate decreases by year-end, according to André Dragosch, head of European research at crypto asset management firm Bitwise.
“Once you start seeing additional rate cuts by the Fed, the curve will steepen, indicating further acceleration and growth in the US money supply,” Dragosch expressed to Cointelegraph, indicating that the rate cuts could be a major macro development to “bolster” the continuation of Bitcoin’s rally “at least until year-end.”
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Despite a notable sentiment shift among retail investors, corporations have persistently been acquiring leading cryptocurrencies.
At least 297 public entities were holding Bitcoin, an increase from 124 at the start of June.
This number included 169 public companies, 57 private firms, 44 investment and exchange-traded funds, and 12 governments, collectively acquiring 3.67 million BTC, which represents over 17% of the total supply, according to BitcoinTreasuries.NET.
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