Bitcoin Rises Modestly After U.S. Federal Reserve Raises Interest Rates
Bitcoin experienced a slight increase in price following the expected 25 basis point interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve. The federal funds rate target range is now 5.25%-5.5% after the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Wednesday. Despite remaining within a narrow range of $29,000 to $31,500 for over a month, the world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization rose by 0.3% to $29,354 according to CoinGecko.
XRP Price Drops Amid Rising Dollar Strength and Fed Rate Decision Awaited
XRP's price has fallen by 8% to $0.68, underperforming the crypto market's 3.5% decline on July 24. This drop is due to growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by 25 basis points in its July 25-26 meeting, which is considered bad for cryptocurrencies like XRP. Traders have rotated out of high-cap cryptos to seek shelter in safer assets like the U.S. dollar, causing XRP's price to fall. From a technical standpoint, XRP has entered an overbought correction stage and may decline towards $0.59 in July or early August.
Bitcoin's Price Dips Below $29,000 Amid Expected Rate Hikes from Federal Reserve and European Central Bank
Bitcoin's value briefly dropped below $29,000 on Monday due to concerns about expected rate hikes from the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank. The world's largest cryptocurrency fell by 2.9% over the past 24 hours to $29,044. The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to announce a rate decision on Wednesday, with analysts predicting a 25 basis point hike to bring its target range to 5.25-5.50%. The ECB is also expected to raise rates by 25 basis points to 4.25% on Thursday, which could impact bitcoin's consolidation around the $29,000 mark.
Ethereum Price Prediction: Fed and Options Expiry in Focus
The demand for Ethereum has decreased, causing its price to drop to its lowest level since July 7th. The upcoming Federal Reserve interest rate decision and options expiry on Friday will be important factors affecting Ethereum's price this week. The Fed is expected to raise interest rates by 0.25% and then pause, as further hikes could lead to a hard landing for the American economy. Ethereum tends to show volatility ahead of options expiry, and data shows there are over 2.2 million ETH calls and 755,222 puts in the options market.
FedNow Not a Major Threat to Stablecoins, Observers Say
Some observers believe that the Federal Reserve's new FedNow service, which enables instantaneous settlements for dollar payments around the clock, does not pose a significant threat to stablecoins, despite having some financial characteristics in common. Stablecoin issuers and users have found persisting use cases for stablecoins that are outside the scope and capabilities of FedNow.
July 27 Fed announces the Rate and U.S. Monetary Policy
According to Jin10 Data, the Federal Reserve will announce its interest rate resolution at 2:00 a.m ( UTC+8) . on Thursday, July 27th. At the same time, Fed Chairman Powell held a press conference on monetary policy.
Cash Payments in the United States Account for Only 18% of All Payments, and More Than 100 Countries Plan To Build Digital Currencies
Cash payments in the United States account for only 18% of all payments, and more than 100 countries plan to establish digital currencies. In 2020, many countries have launched central bank digital currency research projects, but the Federal Reserve has always denied plans to issue a digital dollar.
Custodia Bank CEO Questions Adyen's Early Access to FedNow Instant Payment Service
Caitlin Long, CEO of Custodia Bank, noticed that Adyen, a fintech company, was listed as an early adopter of the Federal Reserve's new FedNow instant payment service, despite not being approved to establish a branch in the US until a year after receiving a federal master account. Long questioned how Adyen was able to obtain a master account and qualify to clear US$ payments at the Fed, as fintechs are thought to be excluded. Long has been fighting for Custodia to gain a master account, which would provide access to the FedWire network, but the rules around access have been unclear. The Federal Reserve has not yet commented on the matter.
Bitcoin's Inverse Correlation with the US Dollar Weakens, Allowing for Independent Asset Class Marketing
The U.S. Dollar Index has seen a significant decline due to increasing hopes of the Federal Reserve ending interest rate hikes. This has led to a weakening correlation between the USD and Bitcoin, meaning that movements in the U.S. dollar will have little impact on BTC.
Federal Reserve's FedNow Service for Instant Payments Unrelated to CBDCs, Clarifies Central Bank
The Federal Reserve of the United States has confirmed that its new instant payment service for organizations, FedNow Service, is not a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The FedNow Service has been certified as "ready" after testing with 41 financial institutions, 15 service providers, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and is set to launch by the end of July 2023.
