Bitcoin’s price has declined by more than $2,000 in the last 24 hours. It dropped by some $500 in the past few minutes, and then recovered, right as the US Federal Reserve announced another rate cut – the third one for this year. It reduced the rates by 25 basis points (0.25%), while Powell also confirmed that they forecast one more cut in 2026.
Apparently, the market was expecting a higher decrease of 50 basis points, which didn’t come, resulting in the current choppy price action. That said, the event was largely priced in, as Polymarket odds favoring a rate cut approached 99% hours before the press conference.
The decision comes at a time when the cryptocurrency market is experiencing heightened overall volatility. Just yesterday, CryptoPotato reported that Bitcoin skyrocketed by about $4,000 in minutes, peaking above $94,600 before retracing.
The move was widely followed within the altcoin market. Notably, ETH increased by 9% over the following 24 hours, outperforming many large-cap cryptocurrencies.
Market Analysis and Predictions
Coinbase Institutional predicted a rally towards the end of the month. The primary reason is that its “systemic leverage ratio,” which tracks purely speculative positioning, has stabilized at around 4% to 5% of total market capitalization, down from 10% this summer.
In other words, the firm believes that the “speculative excess has been flushed out,” meaning that the market structure, at least in their view, is healthier now.