The price of XRP, Solana, and Dogecoin slumped on Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s next policy decision, an event that could shape rate cut expectations as the crypto market attempts to recover from a bumpy stretch under President Trump.
The Fed is widely expected to leave its benchmark rate unchanged, but investors will still be fixed on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s post-decision remarks, alongside a so-called Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) that the U.S. central bank is set to release.
“Altcoin season may be dictated by Powell this year,” Bitwise Senior Investment Strategist Juan Leon told Decrypt. “If officials add more cuts to the ‘dot plot,’ that would likely boost crypto, given expectations of lower rates and higher implied support from the Fed to the economy.”
The Fed’s SEP will include projections on the unemployment rate and economic growth, but among the most important for risk assets is officials’ expectations on interest rates. The crypto market boomed to new heights as the Fed delivered a series of rate cuts last year.
However, the crypto market has lost $1 trillion in value since the Fed’s December meeting, according to CoinGecko. Policymakers signaled then that there would be fewer rate cuts this year than investors anticipated, projecting two quarter-percentage-point rate cuts instead of four.
The price of XRP, Solana, and Dogecoin had each fallen over 4% on Tuesday, hitting $2.26, $124, and $0.16, respectively. Meanwhile, Bitcoin fell 2.4% to $82,000 and Ethereum edged down 1.7% to $1,900.
Bitcoin, XRP and Dogecoin Fall Fast After Federal Reserve Cuts Rates
Bitcoin and other major assets like Ethereum, XRP, and Dogecoin fell fast after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spoke and announced an expected interest rate cut. The move apparently pushed investors away from “risk-on” assets like crypto and U.S. equities on word that the central bank would not cut aggressively in 2025. The largest digital asset by market cap is now trading for $101,430 after plunging following the Fed press conference. In the past 24 hours, the asset has dropped by nearly...
Leon said Powell will likely strike a “cautiously optimistic tone,” while officials leave the dot plot unchanged from its previous meeting. The U.S. central bank is in a “wait-and-see mode” on tariffs and inflation, and Powell will likely point to a murky outlook on the economy, he added.
President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again approach to tariffs has weighed on crypto prices since his inauguration. While they’ve sparked inflation concerns, some economists fear that they may also weigh on economic growth through elevated costs for consumers and businesses.
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Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has added to growth concerns, as market participants digest how federal spending cuts could impact employment and the economic growth.
Leon said that altcoins like XRP, Solana, and Dogecoin have grown especially sensitive to rate cut expectations, as the Securities and Exchange Commission strikes a more crypto-friendly tone.
“They will now be more at the whims of macro, as opposed to specific regulatory actions,” he said.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
