Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market are choppy ahead of the release of finalized U.S. gross domestic product data later today. The vast majority of the assets in the top 100 coins by market cap are trading in the red.
Bitcoin has, once again, breached the $61,000 mark and currently trades for $60,670 at the time of writing, according to CoinGecko.
The finalized gross domestic product data for the U.S.—the biggest indicator of whether the economy is growing or declining—is expected to show 1.3% growth. This figure is important as it plays a pivotal role in the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut rates. A strong GDP figure would likely bolster the Fed’s resolve to leave rates unchanged. Conversely, a weak GDP figure would likely speed up the process of interest rate cuts.
Earlier this month, commentary from the Federal Reserve indicated that the Fed is likely to cut rates only once this year. This caused a sell-off in the cryptocurrency markets, as investors are cautious of investing in risk assets in an environment with high interest rates.
Bitcoin, Ethereum Prices Dip as Fed Signals One Rate Cut Ahead in 2024
Cryptocurrency prices wavered Wednesday as investors parsed commentary from the Federal Reserve that provided new insight into the U.S. central bank’s fight against inflation. Policymakers’ move to leave interest rates unchanged for an 11th consecutive month was a foregone conclusion, based on movements in Fed futures markets. At its most restrictive position in over 20 years, the Fed kept its benchmark borrowing rate at a range between 5.25% and 5.50%. This month’s release of a so-called “dot p...
As June draws to a close, the month has not been kind to the leading cryptocurrency, as BTC is down roughly 10% month-to-date. The Fed’s more hawkish than anticipated stance played a key role in this downfall, however, it was not the sole factor.
On Monday, it was announced that Mt. Gox creditors will start receiving reimbursements from early July. This spooked market participants, as nearly $9 billion worth of Bitcoin will be handed out to investors who did not have access to said funds for over a decade.
Then yesterday, the U.S. government sent $240 million worth of BTC to Coinbase Prime, the institutional arm of Coinbase.
US Government Just Sent $240M in Bitcoin to Coinbase—Another Selloff?
The U.S. government appears to be selling more Bitcoin, with a known federal wallet address sending another 3,940 BTC ($240 million) to Coinbase on Wednesday. The move to Coinbase Prime—the exchange’s institutional platform—was immediately picked up by blockchain sleuths, highlighting a blockchain transfer at 1pm ET for just $18 in fees. Expert opinions were split regarding where the government obtained the transferred Bitcoin. According to on-chain sleuth ZachXBT’s Telegram channel, the funds w...
Apart from the U.S. government, German authorities have been aggressively selling BTC that they have seized. In the past two weeks, German authorities have sold nearly $225 million worth of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is not the only major cryptocurrency to have lost ground.
Ethereum, BNB, and Solana were all down at least 1% early this morning. And of the top 100 coins by market cap on CoinGecko, one six coins saw an upswing of more than 2% in the past 24 hours.
Maker, Kaspa, and Ethereum Name Service witnessed their price increase by 7%, 6.7% and 4.3%, respectively, while Injective, Flare, and Aave saw their price increase anywhere between 2.5% and 3.5%.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
