Bitcoin fell to about $24,990 on Wednesday, as investors reacted to the U.S. central bank’s widely expected halt to a more than year-long diet of interest rate hikes. Major altcoins also took a late afternoon dive to sink into negative territory, with the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization hitting its lowest level since mid-March.
Joe DiPasquale, CEO of crypto asset manager BitBull Capital, commented on the situation, saying “The Fed has left rates unchanged, which was expected by the market given the macroeconomic situation. The initial move has been toward the downside, since the Fed indicated that this pause is likely not going to last.” He added that “as long as Bitcoin maintains $25K, we should continue to see consolidation.”
Ether was recently trading at $1,650, down 5.1% from Tuesday, while other major cryptos mentioned in the SEC actions plunged late with ADA, the token of the Cardano blockchain, down more than 5%. The CoinDesk Market Index, a measure of crypto markets overall performance, was trading sideways.
Valkyrie Investments noted a price pattern called “throwback” on bitcoin’s daily chart that could recharge bulls’ engines for a rally toward $37,000. Equity indexes also fell amid longer-term concerns that the current rate increase cessation will be temporary.
Markus Levin, co-founder of blockchain geospatial oracle system XYO Network, said that “the global macro setup is shifting significantly,” and that bitcoin and other digital assets have “likely already hit the bottom.” He added that “I expect there to be sideways action for BTC and other coins for some months ahead, punctuated by bouts of volatility.”