Key dealers
- Bitcoin stayed stable at $ 104K as the Federal Reserve maintained interest rates to 4.25%-4.50%.
- The Fed projects two interest rates in 2025, with a gradual relief to 3.4% in 2027.
Bitcoin hovered approximately $ 104,200 on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve left its benchmark the interest rate unchanged with 4.25% to 4.50%, in line with expectations.
While decision makers are still projecting two interest rate cuts this year, they struck a cautious tone, citing rising inflation bound to customs as a reason to delay measures.
The Fed’s updated economic forecasts, including its quarterly dot plot, showed that officials expect the benchmark interest to fall to 3.9% by the end of 2025, which means 50 basic points for cuts this year. However, the tempo is to facilitate beyond the slower than previously expected, with prices seen at 3.6% 2026 and 3.4% in 2027.
At his press conference after the meeting, chairman Jerome Powell excluded raises as the base case but emphasized the need to wait for more clarity.
“We will make a smarter decision if we wait a couple of months,” he said, pointing to uncertainty about how much tariffs will affect inflation. He added that “the labor market does not shout for an interest rate reduction” and that current conditions mean that the Fed remains patience.
Other forecasts showed higher inflation expectations compared to Mars. Fed now sees PCE inflation at 3% and Core PCE at 3.1% for 2025. GDP growth was revised to 1.4%, while unemployment was estimated to rise to 4.5% this year and remained raised by 2026.
Bitcoin changed a little after the announcement, while American stock markets were moving higher.
