Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Hawkish Comments Throw Some Cold Water on Crypto

Markets Election 2024 Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Hawkish Comments Throw Some Cold Water on Crypto A December rate cut from the U.S. central bank might not be as sure of a thing as previously thought. By Stephen Alpher Nov 14, 2024 at 8:50 p.m. UTC Updated Nov 14, 2024 at 8:52 p.m. UTC Election 2024 coverage presented by Stand with crypto Fed Chair Jerome Powell (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) It's hardly a blip on the charts after the major run higher following the election of Donald Trump, but crypto markets did turn somewhat lower late in the U.S. trading day Thursday after a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. "The economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates," said Powell in prepared remarks at a Dallas conference. "The strength we are currently seeing in the economy gives us the ability to approach our decisions carefully." Unmute Uptober Forming Amid Rising Stablecoin Liquidity and Bitcoin Transactions 01:01 Bitcoin Breaks $64K While Gold Soars 00:56 ETH/BTC Ratio Slid to Lowest Since April 2021 00:57 Is Bitcoin Losing Its Bullish Momentum? The price of bitcoin (BTC) fell about 1.5% to $88,300 in the minutes following Powell's comments. The price at press time had dipped a bit further to $88,000, down 3.2% over the past 24 hours. Ether (ETH) is down by a similar amount. The broader CoinDesk 20 Index, however, is up 0.5% over the same time frame. It's being led by a 13% advance for Ripple's (XRP) , perhaps cheered by remarks from Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler which could be interpreted as his planning to quietly exit his job in wake of the Trump victory. Just a few hours ago thought to be a certain thing, the chances of a Fed rate cut at its next meeting in mid-December have fallen to 62% in the wake of Powell's speech, according to CME FedWatch . One day ago, those chances stood at 83%. Also on a tear of late, traditional markets pulled back a bit on the hawkish tone, led by the Nasdaq's 0.75% to a session low just a few minutes before the close of the trading day. Crypto markets, of course, remain sharply higher of late, with bitcoin still sporting a 15% week-over-week gain and names like Cardano's (ADA) , (XRP) , (NEAR) and (XLM) higher by 20%-40%. Disclosure Please note that our privacy policy , terms of use , cookies , and do not sell my personal information have been updated . CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies . CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one. Stephen Alpher Stephen Alpher is CoinDesk's managing editor for Markets. He holds BTC above CoinDesk’s disclosure threshold of $1,000. Follow @ SteveAlpher on Twitter Read more about Federal Reserve Jerome Powell Interest Rates Bitcoin