Bitcoin and Crypto Market React to Powell’s Speech
On Friday, August 22, Bitcoin and the crypto market became very volatile after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave a speech at Jackson Hole. Powell hinted that interest rates in the U.S. could be cut soon.
This news pushed risk assets higher, including cryptocurrencies. Many large coins hit new short-term highs. For example, Ethereum briefly reached a new all-time high of around $4,888 on Friday.
Now, investors are looking ahead to the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in September. Many hope it will bring positive news for Bitcoin and other risk assets.
Experts See High Chance of September Rate Cut
Investment researcher Jim Bianco shared his thoughts on Powell’s speech. He said Powell’s words could be interpreted in many ways, like a “Rorschach test,” where people see different things in the same image.
Bianco noted that at the start of the week, chances of a September interest rate cut were about 80%. However, this depends on key U.S. economic data—such as August job numbers and inflation (CPI)—which will be released before the September 18 FOMC meeting.
After Powell’s speech, the chance of a rate cut stayed at around 80%. Bianco believes nothing has really changed: the Fed’s decision in September still depends on upcoming economic data.
