Bitcoin Tests $100,000 After Fed Spurs Worst Drop Since September

December 19, 2024

(Bloomberg) — Bitcoin briefly sank below $100,000 as the Federal Reserve’s cautious outlook for interest-rate cuts hurt speculative investments.

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The largest digital asset hit $98,760 at one point on Thursday — about $10,000 shy of the record high set earlier this week — before retaking the six-figure level. Tokens such as Ether and meme-crowd favorite Dogecoin also struggled.

Fed officials lowered borrowing costs for a third straight time, but reined in the number of reductions they expect in 2025. Chair Jerome Powell said more progress is needed on inflation before further loosening monetary policy.

The result of the Fed meeting shouldn’t have surprised investors watching “the recent run of warm US inflation and activity data,” IG Australia Pty Market Analyst Tony Sycamore wrote in a note. “However, it has served as the catalyst to wash away some of the speculative excesses that flowed into risk assets, including stocks and Bitcoin, following the US election,” he said.

The Fed decision lifted a dollar gauge while weighing on global stocks and bonds. A spat over a funding bill added to nerves by raising the risk of a partial US government shutdown. US equity futures wavered on Thursday.

Bitcoin is up roughly 50% since the US vote on Nov. 5, buoyed by President-elect Donald Trump’s vow to unfetter crypto from regulatory shackles. The Republican has also backed the idea of creating a national stockpile of the token.

“All signs point to a good floor and outlook for Bitcoin” even if some traders were disappointed about the Fed meeting and took profits, said Paul Veradittakit, a managing partner at Pantera Capital.

Trump’s embrace of crypto has overshadowed warnings about stretched momentum and the lack of any traditional valuation tethers. President Joe Biden’s outgoing administration imposed a clampdown on the industry in the wake of a market rout in 2022 that exposed risky practices and fraud.

Sean McNulty, director of trading at liquidity provider Arbelos Markets, reported a post-Fed pick up in demand for options to hedge against Bitcoin declines. A retreat into the low $90,000s is possible for a very short period, according to Zann Kwan, chief investment officer at the Revo Digital Family Office.

Bitcoin changed hands at $101,280 as of 5:52 a.m. on Thursday in London.

–With assistance from Olga Kharif.