Bitcoin (BTC) cracked $77,000 and set another new all-time high on Friday, one day after the U.S. Federal Reserve opted to lower interest rates again.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted this week to lower the Fed’s policy interest rate by one-fourth of a percentage point, following September’s 50 basis-point cut.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted at a press conference on Thursday that inflation has dropped from a peak of 7% to 2.1% in September, though he said the Fed’s goal is still to reduce it to 2% even.
“We see the risks to achieving our employment and inflation goals as being roughly in balance, and we are attentive to the risks to both sides of our mandate.
At today’s meeting, the Committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point, to 4-1/2 to 4-3/4 percent. This further recalibration of our policy stance will help maintain the strength of the economy and the labor market and will continue to enable further progress on inflation as we move toward a more neutral stance over time.”
September’s 50 basis-point slash was the Fed’s first rate cut since March 2020.
Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $77,239.75 on Friday. The top-ranked crypto asset first jumped in price earlier this week after former Republican nominee Donald Trump won the US presidential election. Trump campaigned on a pro-crypto agenda despite previously vocalizing skepticism about digital assets.
BTC is trading at $76,523 at time of writing.
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