Cryptocurrency prices are marginally up in early Wednesday trade in the United States. The majority of markets are paused while the FOMC meeting concludes this afternoon.
For bitcoin, this means that the asset is “stuck” at the $23,000 level – while investors await the report of the new interest rate by the Federal Reserve. After gaining up to 40% in value during January, the world’s largest crypto by market capitalization has found incredible difficulty in surpassing this resistance level.
Price Steady at $23K
In fact, BTC has been battling the $23,000 resistance for 11 days. The asset reached that level for the first time in three months on January 21, and since then has stopped its forward momentum.
For now, the entire crypto market will likely stay quiet for a couple of hours, until this afternoon’s report by Jerome Powell.
What To Expect Of The FOMC Meeting
The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in the United States began Tuesday morning with reports about the US job market and will conclude this Wednesday afternoon with a much-awaited statement from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.
Since August, the Federal Reserve is consecutively upping the ante on American interest levels, raising it month after month. However, specialists anticipate that on February 1st, Powell will announce a raise of “only” 0.25%.
In late November, the SEC hinted that the American Government would start “slowing down” its interest raises. That much has since come to fruition. The Fed since “slowed down” the raises from 0.75% to today’s potential 0.25%.
Prediction on Crypto Market
If that comes to fruition, it will provide to investors and the crypto market a “reassurance” that American Interests are close to peaking. The recurring raises in the previous months have led interest rates to the highest it has been since the 2008 Real State Market Crash.
Jerome Powell’s announcement will be watched by the entire world, as it not only affects crypto but also stock and gold, and even other fiat currencies. On the following day, the European Central Bank will meet with the Bank of England in order to discuss its own monetary policies.
