Bitcoin slips under $80K ahead of Wednesday's Fed decision
Crypto drifted lower on Monday as traders pulled back ahead of Wednesday's Federal Reserve rate decision. Bitcoin slipped back under $80,000, and most large coins followed it down.
The numbers
- Bitcoin fell about 0.3% on the day to roughly $79,800, and is down about 2.4% over the past week.
- Ethereum fell about 0.6% to around $2,314, down about 3.5% on the week.
- XRP traded near $1.29, roughly 13% lower for the month of October so far.
What's driving it
The Fed on Wednesday. The Federal Reserve announces its interest rate decision on October 28. Markets were pricing only a small chance of a rate hike, about 8%, but traders tend to cut risk before big announcements and wait for the commentary that follows.
Profit-taking after a strong quarter. Several coins bounced by double digits from their summer lows during the third quarter, and some of those gains are being cashed in.
ETF outflows. The big spot Bitcoin funds fell with the market. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust and Fidelity's Bitcoin fund both dropped about 1.6%, and the iShares Ethereum Trust fell about 3.2%.
One to watch: XRP Ledger activity
While XRP's price has slid this month, activity on its network jumped. The XRP Ledger processed about 3.7 million transactions on October 25, its busiest day in six months and about 48% above its 30-day average. The headline figure of a 1,717% jump is inflated because the day before was unusually quiet, and the all-time record of 6.9 million from December 2023 is still far higher.
What it means
Quiet down days before a Fed meeting are common, and $80,000 is the level many Bitcoin traders are watching. Expect bigger moves once the decision and the press conference are out on Wednesday afternoon. This brief is information only, not financial advice.
Sources: The Motley Fool, The Crypto Basic.