Did Powell’s hawkish speech trigger Bitcoin’s fall below $100K and $780M in liquidations?

Bitcoin’s price briefly dropped below $100,000 on Wednesday, hitting a low of $98,839, according to TradingView data. This decline followed the US Federal Reserve’s announcement that it plans to significantly reduce easing measures in 2025.

In the past 24 hours, the broader crypto market has also seen over $780.24 million in liquidations.

Fed’s hawkish shift surprises markets, driving crypto and stock declines

The US Federal Reserve announced that it plans to significantly reduce easing measures in 2025. The Fed proceeded with a 25-basis point rate cut as expected. However, the updated dot plot, a chart showing rate projections from individual Fed members, indicated a 50-basis point increase. This caught markets off guard, which had earlier anticipated a 100-basis point reduction in 2025.

The shift spooked markets, sending the 10-year US Treasury yield and the US dollar spiked sharply while cryptocurrencies and stocks took a severe beating. 

During his press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said:

“It’s not unlike driving on a foggy night or walking into a dark room full of furniture. You just slow down.”

~Jerome Powell

Bitcoin is presently trading at $101,393 after paring some losses.

Altcoins drop as Bitcoin faces headwinds from Powell’s comments

Apart from Bitcoin several altcoins also experienced a significant drop on Wednesday, with Ether plunging 6.5% and XRP falling 12.64%. The GMCI 30 index, which measures the performance of the top 30 cryptocurrencies, fell 7.18% in the last day.

Bitcoin’s latest rally has been propelled by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump reaffirming his commitment to establishing a national strategic Bitcoin reserve. Adding to the bullish sentiment states such as Texas, Pennsylvania, and Florida have established bills to form state-backed Bitcoin reserves, amplifying optimism among traders.

However, Powell said during a news conference on Wednesday that the central bank is not allowed to hold Bitcoin and is “not looking for a law change,” in response to a question on his view on the U.S. government Bitcoin reserve.

Arthur Hayes, former CEO of BitMEX and current CIO of Maelstrom, recently wrote in an article that he anticipates a significant sell-off in the crypto market around Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. He believes investors will begin to recognize the gap between their expectations and the reality of the market.

According to Hayes, the market will instantly face the reality that Trump has at best one year to enact any policy changes on or around January 20th. He noted that this realization will trigger a sharp sell-off in crypto and other Trump 2.0 equity trades.

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