Bitcoin Price Hits Fresh Record. Fed Decision Could Impact Crypto Further. — Barrons.com
2024-12-16
Category: None

By Elsa Ohlen
Bitcoin price hit an all-time high of above $106,000 early Monday, reaping further gains from President-elect Donald Trump's plans to deregulate cryptos and create a national strategic reserve of bitcoin.
Over the past 24 hour period the price of the largest digital token slipped back from that record high to $104,913, according to CoinDesk data. The slight drop could be due to fears the Federal Reserve will announce a more hawkish rate cut on Dec. 18 than previously expected.
Cryptocurrencies are generally considered a risky investment and tend to rise when the Fed cuts rates. Signs that the central bank will ease the monetary cutting cycle somewhat could therefore hamper the crypto rally.
Despite this risk, the factors driving cryptos higher seemingly offset the the potential for a more modest Fed rate cut.
Bitcoin is up more than 50% since Trump won the election as the president-elect has appointed crypto advocates to key roles in his incoming administration, including the crypto-friendly Paul Atkins to head the Securities and Exchange Commission to replace current chair Gary Gensler.
Write to Elsa Ohlen at elsa.ohlen@barrons.com
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