background of header

foreground of header

Watch Daily: Monday – Friday, 3 PM ET

Crypto World

Bitcoin and crypto stocks rise after the Fed cuts rates by half a percentage point

Published Thu, Sep 19 20248:31 AM EDTUpdated Thu, Sep 19 20244:01 PM EDT
Tanaya Macheel

WATCH LIVE

In this article

  • BTC.CM=
Roslan Rahman | AFP | Getty Images

Cryptocurrencies rose as part of a broad market rally Thursday, one day after the Federal Reserve delivered a half-percentage-point reduction in interest rates, the first in more than four years.

The price of bitcoin was recently higher by 5% at $63,255.00, according to Coin Metrics, building on a rally underway before the central bank decision Wednesday. Bitcoin, similar to stocks, initially jumped and then pulled back as traders absorbed the news.

“Bitcoin’s tightest correlations over time have been a positive relationship with money growth and a negative relationship with the U.S. dollar,” said Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck. “With this move from the Fed, we think the likelihood of strong Q4 performance from bitcoin rises.”

Ether rose 6%. Its competitor, the Solana token, jumped 10%.

hide content
Bitcoin rises after Wednesday’s Fed decision

Stocks tied to the price of bitcoin climbed. Bitcoin exchange operator Coinbase advanced 3%. MicroStrategy, widely used as a high beta play on the price of bitcoin, gained 9%.

Some investors are concerned that the size of the interest rate reduction, when the Fed could have eased policy by only a quarter point, shows that policymakers must be more worried about the economy than the markets would indicate. Others are more focused on easier borrowing costs spurring an uptick in liquidity that is likely to support prices.

Bitcoin behaves as both a hedge and a risk asset, and is currently more closely correlated to the Nasdaq Composite Index than it is with gold.

Bitcoin is up 6% in September, usually its worst month of the year. It is not out of the woods yet, however, said Yuya Hasegawa, crypto market analyst at Japanese bitcoin exchange Bitbank. He warned about the outcome of the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting, which began Thursday.

“The BOJ will likely keep the policy rate this time around but signs of additional rate hikes could boost [the Japanese yen] and may trigger yen carry trade to rewind, which could result in a sell-off in the Japanese stock market and the risk-off sentiment could cascade into the crypto market,” he said. “Bitcoin has some time until the BOJ makes the decision and could extend its gain during Thursday’s U.S. session. The next likely short-term target is around $65,000.”

Don’t miss these cryptocurrency insights from CNBC PRO:

  • Analysts warn Coinbase could slump after crypto exchange scored a 6-day rally
  • Stablecoins are becoming ‘systemically important’ as market cap returns to record highs, analysts say
  • A Trump victory could send bitcoin to $125,000, says Standard Chartered

More In Crypto World

watch now

Bitcoin pares weekly losses after better-than-expected September jobs data: CNBC Crypto World

VIDEO07:44
Bitcoin pares weekly losses after better-than-expected September jobs data: CNBC Crypto World
2 hours ago
watch now

Visa launches tokenization platform for banks

watch now
VIDEO07:12
Visa launches tokenization platform for banks
2 hours ago
watch now

XRP sinks after SEC files notice of appeal in Ripple case: CNBC Crypto World

watch now
VIDEO10:40
XRP sinks after SEC files notice of appeal in Ripple case: CNBC Crypto World
Read More