Bitcoin and Ether recorded slight gains after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated that they would likely bring smaller interest rate hikes. The topmost cryptocurrency was trading for $17,144, up 1.61% in the last 24 hours, while the second most popular crypto was up by 1.53% and changing hands at $1,286.
Most of the altcoins also saw surges with Polygon MATIC being the biggest gainer. It was up by 6.86% in the last 24 hours. Avalanche gained 2.83%, Solana 2.78%, and Cardano 1.21%. Litecoin was down 1.78%.
Powell said the time for moderating the pace of rate increases may come as soon as the December meeting. The central bank sent interest rates up 0.75 percentage points four times in 2022 to tackle rising inflation. In its upcoming and final meeting, the Fed is likely to raise interest rates by 0.50 percentage points.
Ryan Scott, a trader, said it was clearer than ever that the Fed was going to cool down its tightening. But he added that the central bank doesn’t have to be so explicit that they loosen market conditions again. Bilal Little, president of DFD Partners, said this week’s rally reflected a price reordering that often follows periods of distress. He pointed out that whenever there is an episodic event, markets tend to oversell, and there is an immediate look to contagion. Little believes that as markets gain more clarity, the fair market value will come back into alignment.
However, the crypto market’s upswing has been small compared to equity markets.
