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The Bitcoin price is on the cusp of hitting $70,000 after the Consumer Price Index for May beat market expectations.
The annual US CPI inflation fell to 3.3% in May, surpassing the expected 3.4% figure. Similarly, the core CPI for May came out at 3.4%, beating the expected 3.5%.
The stage is set for J Powell to talk easing.
Let’s go. https://t.co/uu6Sno6Rs4
— ted (@tedtalksmacro) June 12, 2024
The easing inflation immediately sparked conversations regarding interest rate cuts, resulting in a strong bounce in crypto prices. AI coins such as Render and Injective and meme coins such as Pepe and Dogwifhat are all up by over 10% since the CPI release.
All Eyes Now On Powell’s Speech Post FOMC
Crypto prices initially exploded after better-than-expected CPI data. However, the rally failed to gather any momentum as all eyes now turn to the FOMC meeting later today on Wednesday.
While it is unlikely that the Federal Reserve will decide to cut its benchmark rate today, the CME FedWatch tool is now pricing in a greater than 60% probability of rate cuts by September.
More importantly, investors are now eyeing Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference, scheduled at 2:30 PM Eastern Time.
Powell has adopted a dovish stance in his 4 previous press conferences, which has marked the local bottom for Bitcoin. Another dovish speech today could kickstart a major crypto price rally and catapult Bitcoin to a new all-time high.
Powell's press conferences have been good for the market recently 
In fact, the past 4 FOMC events have all coincided with local bottoms and >20% rallies for #Bitcoin.
With the next presser taking place on Thursday, a bounce could be closer than most people think pic.twitter.com/uyXySWRkBH
— Jelle (@CryptoJelleNL) June 11, 2024
However, Powell may well adopt a hawkish – or at least a cautious stance – which could inject strength into the US Dollar and Treasury Yields, thus negatively impacting equities and crypto prices.
Best Altcoins To Buy Now
Today’s FOMC has the potential to kickstart the next leg of this bull cycle. While Bitcoin is expected to push towards new all-time highs, experts such as Michael van de Poppe of MN Trading expect altcoins to outperform BTC this time around.
The #Altcoin bottom could be in today!
It’s a big event day as multiple macroeconomic events are happening.
First, it will be CPI news, and later there’s the FOMC meeting and the FED interest rate decision to be made.
They will have a huge impact on the markets.
The markets… pic.twitter.com/VL3nnIgotx
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) June 12, 2024
For instance, most smart money traders are in consensus regarding Pepe’s bullish prospect, claiming it to be one of the best altcoins to buy now. Indeed, the PEPE price has climbed up by 13% today and is yet down 20% from its all-time high.
Considering that Pepe coin displays a strong correlation with Bitcoin and Ethereum, it could act as a beta bet and deliver outsized returns over the coming weeks.
BRC-20 tokens also show a strong correlation with Bitcoin and could act as leveraged BTC. For instance, the new presale BRC-20 cryptocurrency 99Bitcoins is in high demand during its ongoing presale and has already raised over $2 million in its ICO.
Owing to its learn-to-earn utility and close to a 3 million-strong community, YouTube trading experts such as Crypto Boy believe that 99BTC could potentially offer up to 100x returns.
AI coins are also showing significant strength, with Render and Injective leading the charge. However, investors should also watch out for Worldcoin as it could be another high-potential altcoin to buy now.
Worldcoin is a brainchild of OpenAI founder Sam Altman. Considering OpenAI recently secured a major partnership with Apple and Elon Musk decided to drop his breach of contract suit against the company, the $WLD price could skyrocket in the coming days.
New AI coins are also in high demand. For instance, an AI-powered meme coin WienerAI has raised over $5.5 million in its ICO.
Despite being a meme coin, the project is launching its own trading bot which enables AI-backed predictive trading, seamless swaps and MEV protection for token holders.
Owing to its unique value proposition, experts believe that WienerAI could be the next 100x meme coin.
*Cryptonomist did not write the article or test the platform.