After the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) gathering, Bitcoin saw a jump after Federal Reserve Chairman Powell signaled that banks are allowed to provide services to cryptocurrency customers.
Bitcoin (BTC) initially noticed a slight 0.5% rise soon after the release of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes by the Federal Reserve. The gains increased to 3%, pushing Bitcoin beyond $103,500 during the late trading session. As analysts had predicted, the cryptocurrency market’s initial response was calm following the FOMC’s choice on Wednesday, January 29, to keep interest rates. The Federal Reserve kept the federal funds rate at 4.25% to 4.50%, mentioning “inflation that has somewhat elevated.”
Powell also repeated that the U.S. central bank is legally banned from holding Bitcoin, prompting Senator Cynthia Lummis to suggest changing the law if needed. In response to a cryptocurrency-related question, Powell stated that U.S. banks are “perfectly able” of providing services to cryptocurrency customers, given they follow risk disclosure requirements. He stressed that it is not the Fed’s policy to reject banking services to legitimate and compliant customers, addressing concerns related to the so-called “Operation Choke Point 2.0.”
Powell added, “It would be helpful if there was good regulation of crypto.”
Conversely, bears claim that static interest rates could prevent new capital inflows into Bitcoin and related products, such as Wall Street’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. Bulls, however, think that Bitcoin could increase in February, as it has in eight of the past twelve Februarys. The unchanged federal rate has led to a difference in bullish and bearish sentiments. They also guess that President Trump’s friendly position toward cryptocurrencies could provide additional support for Bitcoin and the broader market.
Following Powell’s comments, the digital asset market moved upward, while major U.S. stock indices closed slightly lower for the day.
Reports indicate that Donald Trump, during his presidency, apparently proposed that Jerome Powell, along with the Federal Reserve, should put into practice reduced interest percentages. Nevertheless, Powell stated that up to this moment, he hasn’t been in contact with Trump and hasn’t provided feedback on the request that has been made public. Toncoin (TON) Value Forecast for March 26th
