Bitcoin Price Today: Holding Steady at $62K Amid Fed and Inflation Concerns

Bitcoin Shows Little Movement Amid Market Uncertainty

Bitcoin’s price saw minimal change on Wednesday, stabilizing after recent declines as traders awaited further insights on U.S. interest rates from the Federal Reserve and upcoming inflation data.

This week, the cryptocurrency’s rebound lost momentum as traders began to price in a slower trajectory for interest rate cuts by the Fed in the near future. Additionally, pressure from a stronger dollar contributed to the overall decline in the cryptocurrency markets, dampening risk appetite among investors.

As of 01:50 ET (05:50 GMT), Bitcoin experienced a slight decrease of 0.1%, trading at $62,466.2.

Awaiting Insights from the Fed

Attention is now focused on the minutes from the Fed’s September meeting, set to be released later today, which may provide further direction on interest rates. In September, the central bank lowered rates by 50 basis points and initiated an easing cycle.

Recent strong payroll data has raised concerns about the Fed’s need to continue aggressively cutting rates. Current market expectations indicate an 84.1% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut in November, with a 15.9% likelihood that rates will remain unchanged.

Tomorrow’s consumer price index inflation data is also being closely monitored, as the Fed indicated that the future pace of cuts will be influenced by inflation trends and labor market conditions.

While lower interest rates generally benefit speculative assets like cryptocurrencies, a slower pace of rate cuts may keep traders cautious in the short term, particularly if the U.S. terminal rate remains elevated.

The cryptocurrency market largely avoided a bounce seen in U.S. stock markets overnight.

Bitcoin Remains Rangebound Amid Lack of Catalysts

Despite recent fluctuations, Bitcoin has remained within a trading range of $50,000 to $65,000 since June. Traders are looking for clear catalysts to drive crypto prices higher, such as the launch of options for BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF.

In the wake of the Fed’s rate cut in September, Bitcoin’s performance lagged behind the stock market rally and was negatively impacted by rising risk aversion last week due to concerns about escalating geopolitical tensions.

One potential support for cryptocurrency prices is the possibility of a Donald Trump win in the 2024 presidential election. Betting platform data indicates Trump with a lead over Vice President Kamala Harris, which could be favorable for the crypto market, considering Trump’s pro-crypto stance in his recent campaigning.

Current Crypto Prices: Altcoins Remain Stable

Overall cryptocurrency prices experienced a slight uptick but stayed mostly within established ranges. The second largest cryptocurrency, Ether, rose by 0.9% to $2,450.46.

Other altcoins such as SOL, XRP, ADA, and MATIC saw marginal gains, while meme tokens like DOGE increased by 1.2%.