Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin rose by 2.1% after FOMC minutes indicated a potential slowdown in quantitative tightening.
- Fed officials are considering pausing balance-sheet reduction due to maximum employment and inflation progress.
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Bitcoin rose 2.1% over the past 24 hours after the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s January meeting revealed policymakers discussed potentially pausing or slowing their balance-sheet reduction program amid debt-ceiling concerns.
Bitcoin’s price climbed from $94,134 yesterday to $96,180 an hour after the release.
“Participants indicated that, provided the economy remained near maximum employment, they would want to see further progress on inflation before making additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate,” the minutes showed.
Officials maintained the Fed’s benchmark policy rate between 4.25% and 4.5% at the January meeting.
The minutes revealed that “many participants noted that the committee could hold the policy rate at a restrictive level if the economy remained strong and inflation remained elevated.”
The Treasury Department has been employing extraordinary measures to extend its ability to pay federal government expenses since reaching the statutory debt limit in January.
President Donald Trump has supported House Republicans’ proposal to raise the debt ceiling by $4 trillion, though negotiations are expected to take months.
Policymakers are monitoring Trump’s economic policy plans, including proposed increased tariffs on US trading partners and immigration restrictions, which could impact inflation, labor markets, and economic growth.
Futures markets currently indicate investors are pricing in one rate cut in 2025, with the possibility of a second.
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