The Federal Reserve maintained the benchmark interest rate at 5.25% to 5.5% as expected last night. Meanwhile, according to the dot plot projections of Fed officials, they expect a 75 basis point rate cut next year, which is more than the forecast in September, with the median forecast for the federal funds rate at the end of 2024 at 4.6%.
Federal Reserve Chairman Powell stated at a press conference that “it is unlikely to raise rates again” and that “the timing of rate cuts will be the subject of discussion,” pushing up the stock market and cryptocurrency market further. Jeffrey Rosenberg, Managing Director of BlackRock, said that Powell’s speech “has given investors a green light.”
With the support of the Federal Reserve, both the cryptocurrency market and major US stock indices have surged, with Bitcoin briefly returning to $43,000 and Ethereum rising to $2,400. The rapid surge has led to nearly $100 million in liquidations across the network in the past 12 hours, with about 70% being short positions.
