The cryptocurrency market surged over 4%, surpassing the $4 trillion milestone after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated a possible interest rate cut in September.
During his address at the Jackson Hole symposium in Wyoming, Powell stated:
“The baseline outlook and changing balance of risks may necessitate adjustments to our policy stance.”
Post-speech, the likelihood of the Federal Reserve lowering its interest rates jumped to almost 90%, as per CME Fedwatch tool data.
Thomas Lee, Chief Investment Officer at Fundstrat, characterized Powell’s remarks as dovish, suggesting this shift would likely benefit small-cap stocks and prominent cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Ethereum leads market rally
Consequently, Bitcoin’s value surged over 3% in the last 24 hours, reaching approximately $117,000 at the time of writing, according to data from CryptoSlate.
Other major tokens, such as Ethereum, BNB, XRP, Solana, and Dogecoin, followed BTC’s trend, each climbing over 7% during the same period. ETH is currently priced above $4650.
Meanwhile, traditional market indices also appeared to rise. The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced increases of about 2% each in response to the news.
Simultaneously, the US dollar weakened against gold and other significant assets, signifying investors’ expectations of looser monetary policy.
Leveraged traders face $553 million losses
The rally significantly impacted leveraged traders who bet against cryptocurrency prices.
Coinglass data reveals that over $553 million in positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours. Short sellers accounted for the majority of the losses, totaling $308 million, while long positions faced approximately $325 million in losses.
Ethereum experienced the heftiest liquidation, with $251 million lost. Bitcoin followed with $102 million, while XRP and Solana saw losses of $17 million and $30 million, respectively.
The magnitude of these liquidations highlights the close connection between cryptocurrency markets and US monetary policy.
If the Fed proceeds with a rate cut in September, it could further increase liquidity, further bolstering risk assets and maintaining the current momentum.
Bitcoin Market Data
As of press time 5:16 pm UTC on Aug. 22, 2025, Bitcoin holds the #1 market cap position and its price is up 3.2% over the last 24 hours. Bitcoin has a market capitalization of $2.32 trillion with a 24-hour trading volume of $74.9 billion. Discover more about Bitcoin ›
Crypto Market Summary
As of press time 5:16 pm UTC on Aug. 22, 2025, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization stands at $4.01 trillion with a 24-hour volume of $204.9 billion. Bitcoin’s dominance is currently at 57.88%. Explore more about the crypto market ›
