Bitcoin – Here’s how and why 2024 will be different from 2023

• Fed’s recent meeting and Powell’s stance influenced Bitcoin’s movement
• Experts are also commenting on BTC’s volatility potential

The Federal Reserve’s recent policy meeting has stirred both criticism and compliments. Particularly noteworthy was Jerome Powell’s indication that a ‘rate hike’ is unlikely to be the central bank’s next move. 

The implications of this were felt across multiple sectors, especially on Bitcoin [BTC] and the cryptocurrency market. In fact, following the Fed statement, BTC briefly rose to $58K before quickly dropping again, indicating ongoing strong selling pressure. 

How are execs reacting? 

Expanding on this point, Joe McCann, Founder, CEO, and CIO of Asymmetric, on a recent episode of “Unchained” said, 

“Employment data is actually the most important thing for determining if and when, the Fed will have coverage to actually start cutting rates.” 

Highlighting Bitcoin’s potential bottom and reversal in market sentiment, especially regarding risk assets and the U.S. dollar,  McCann added, 

“The day of the FED, Bitcoin finally cracked 59k and saw a brutal wash out. I think that there’s probably a good chance based on what happened with the price action, which is a more or less reversal in risk.”  

Since then, however, BTC has been attempting to close in on its all-time high again. At the time of writing, the cryptocurrency was trading at $62,372, up 1.5% in the last 24 hours. 

What this also suggests is that Bitcoin’s second quarter might be a departure from the golden days it registered in the first quarter of 2024. 

Elaborating on this thought, Alex Kruger said,

“This signals very, very effectively and clearly that he’s not concerned with inflation the way some people in the market want him to be.” 

Diverging viewpoints 

On the contrary, according to QCP, a Singapore-based institutional crypto-trading firm, the U.S Fed and QRA were “more dovish than expected.” It noted, 

‘At FOMC, Powell said that the Fed is not looking to hike rates and announced the slowing of Quantitative Tightening (QT) from $60bn monthly to $25bn. For QRA, the Treasury will keep issuances for longer maturities unchanged, reducing fears of a spike in longer-term yields. This should help push down the USD rally, which is positive for risk assets.” 

Way forward 

In conclusion, underlining Bitcoin’s newfound independence, Kruger addressed that unlike 2023, BTC remains unaffected by events like those involving Israel, Iran, and economic reports. According to the exec, 

“If you think that there is a ‘fed put’ this is very good because it means equities won’t collapse therefore the probability of Bitcoin actually doing its own thing and imploding 80% becomes very dim.”