Bitcoin Above $62K, US Stock Market Down, and More: Fed’s Rate Cut Aftermath

As repeatedly said in the past few days, all financial markets, especially crypto, were focused on the FOMC meeting that took place on September 18 as the US central bank was expected to lower the interest rates for the first time in about four years.

Once that came to fruition, markets went berserk, with massive price volatility. Here’s the aftermath 12 hours later.

BTC Goes Up

Many believed the interest rate cuts were already priced in for riskier assets like bitcoin. Others, such as Arthur Hayes, asserted that such actions by the US Fed will cripple the market. His words were actually from a long-term perspective, but the short-term has been quite positive for BTC’s price.

The asset had already jumped from $57,600 to $60,000 a day prior but went on a real rollercoaster after the Fed made it official with a 50 basis point cut. In the first few hours after the announcement, BTC was going up and down on several occasions.

12 hours later, when the dust has settled (for now), bitcoin’s price is nearly 3% higher than yesterday and is up by 7% on a weekly scale. The asset tapped a 3-week peak above $62,500 earlier today but has retraced slightly to $60,000 as of now. Most altcoins have followed suit, and the total crypto market cap has gained about $100 billion overnight.

The liquidations have shot up to $200 million on a daily scale, with shorts representing the lion’s share. Naturally, BTC leads the way with $75 million in wrecked positions, while ETH is next with $35 million.

Stocks Down, Gold Volatile

Even the precious metal faced enhanced volatility after the rate cut, going from $2,550/oz to a new all-time high of $2,600 before retracing to $2,545 and settling at $2,567.

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The US stock market followed suit with initial gains but later posted minor declines. The S&P 500 opened the trading day at 5,641, shot up to nearly 5,680, but closed at 5,618. Nasdaq Composite’s movement was similar, from 17,663 to over 17,800 and down to 17,573 at the end of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was a fair bit less volatile, but still ended the day with a minor loss.

Although it’s still early to make grand conclusions, the developments in the first 12 hours show that riskier assets like crypto have so far benefited from the Fed’s rate reduction. Nevertheless, time will tell whether it will indeed turn out to be a bullish move or Hayes will be right.