Bitcoin and the broader crypto market suddenly gained momentum after the March 19 US Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
By Wahid Pessarlay
Updated
2 mins read
The US Federal Open Market Committee meeting turned out to be a bullish surprise for financial markets, including crypto. Jerome Powell, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, announced that the interest rates would remain unchanged.
The US Fed would maintain its interest rates at 4.25% to 4.50%, showing that the central bank will likely ease its quantitative tightening (QT) policies.
Moreover, the Fed’s stance could also hint at a dovish policy shift and potentially the start of quantitative easing (QE) as the end of QT is happening earlier than expected.
In simple terms, the Fed will likely increase the money supply, which would lower the interest rates, to boost the US economy.
Arthur Hayes, a co-founder of the BitMEX crypto exchange, wrote in an X post that the next step for a stronger bullish momentum would be the Supplementary Leverage Ratio (SLR) exemptions or a restart of QE.
The digital asset market witnessed a strong bullish momentum after the FOMC meeting on March 19. The global crypto market capitalization increased by 3.2%, reaching $2.81 trillion, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
The total daily crypto trading volume climbed 51% to $105 billion, showing an impressive rise in investors and traders.
Bitcoin BTC $84 267 24h volatility: 2.9% Market cap: $1.67 T Vol. 24h: $27.68 B surpassed the $85,000 mark and Ethereum ETH $1 981 24h volatility: 4.2% Market cap: $238.98 B Vol. 24h: $14.31 B reached the $2,000 zone.
One of the most notable performers of the latest bullish momentum is XRP (XRP). The asset recorded a 7.5% surge over the past 24 hours and is trading at $2.47 at the time of writing.
At one point, XRP XRP $2.43 24h volatility: 4.6% Market cap: $141.75 B Vol. 24h: $4.29 B reached a local high of $2.57 earlier today, swapping USDT’s spot and becoming the third-largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of $149.18 billion.
On March 19, Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, the company behind XRP, claimed that the US Securities and Exchange Commission “will drop its appeal” against the firm. This triggered a 13% rise in XRP price hours before the FOMC meeting.
If the Fed’s QT ends, the start of another bull run is very likely, especially for assets like XRP that have been struggling with regulators.
Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
Wahid has been analyzing and reporting on the latest trends in the decentralized ecosystem since 2019. He has over 4,000 articles to his name and his work has been featured on some of the leading outlets including Yahoo Finance, Investing.com, Cointelegraph, and Benzinga. Other than reporting, Wahid likes to connect the dots between DeFi and macro on his newsletter, On-chain Monk.