Federal Reserve Chair Rules Out Bitcoin on Fed's Balance Sheet, Markets React
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has unequivocally ruled out the possibility of the central bank holding Bitcoin, citing legal constraints under the Federal Reserve Act. During a press conference on December 19, Powell clarified that the Fed is not seeking legislative changes to enable cryptocurrency ownership.

“We’re not allowed to own Bitcoin,” Powell stated. “The Federal Reserve Act defines what we can hold, and we’re not pursuing a change in the law. That’s a matter for Congress, but it’s not something the Fed is considering.”
Powell’s comments, coupled with a more cautious tone from the Federal Reserve, prompted a sharp decline in Bitcoin’s value. The cryptocurrency fell 5.9% to $100,605, retreating from its record high of $108,000 set on December 18. The broader cryptocurrency market also experienced a downturn, with its total capitalization falling by 7.6% to $3.67 trillion. Ethereum, XRP, and Solana recorded losses ranging from 4% to 11%.

Source:Coinmarketcap
Market and Policy Impacts
On the same day, the Federal Reserve announced a quarter-point interest rate cut, bringing the target range to 4.25%–4.5%. Powell emphasized that the Fed’s monetary policy is now “significantly less restrictive” after reducing rates by a full percentage point from their peak. He noted that future rate adjustments in 2025 would depend on inflation trends and labor market data.
Equity markets also reacted negatively, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both dropping 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by approximately 100 points, extending its losing streak to 10 days.
Despite the declines, analysts from blockchain platform Santiment highlighted Bitcoin’s relative resilience. “BTC remaining above $100K despite the correction could be seen as a sign of underlying strength. We anticipate stabilization over the next 24-48 hours,” the firm noted.
Trump Advocates for Bitcoin Strategic Reserve

President-elect Donald Trump, meanwhile, reiterated his support for Bitcoin as a strategic asset. During a December 12 address, Trump proposed creating a U.S. Bitcoin reserve to ensure the nation’s leadership in the global cryptocurrency space.
“We’re going to do something incredible with crypto. We don’t want China or others to get ahead of us,” Trump said.
The U.S. government currently holds over 212,000 BTC, valued at $22.3 billion, from law enforcement seizures. While Trump’s vision for a Bitcoin reserve remains undefined, there is growing speculation that an executive order could establish Bitcoin as a reserve asset after his inauguration on January 20, 2025.
Analysts believe these developments signal a significant shift in the U.S. government’s approach to cryptocurrency, even as the Federal Reserve maintains its cautious stance.
#btc #BitcoinReserve #CryptoNewss #TrumpSupportsCrypto #TrumpCrypto
$BTC

Bitcoin may ‘pump then rotate back’ if US strategic reserve gets approved
A crypto analyst warns that Bitcoin’s price could face volatility if the highly anticipated United States Bitcoin Strategic Reserve bill gets passed.
A crypto analyst has warned that if approved, Senator Lummis’ proposal for the United States government to acquire 5% of Bitcoin’s supply could cause increased price volatility in the short term.
“I expect it to be pretty volatile, especially if the strategic Bitcoin reserve gets approved; I think Bitcoin will pump then probably rotate back,” Collective Shift founder and CEO Ben Simpson told Cointelegraph.
Bitcoin dominance will “start to fall”
Cointelegraph recently reported that after Trump’s winning the presidential election on Nov. 5, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis — a Trump supporter, Republican and crypto advocate — said she would move forward with legislation for the US government to buy 1 million Bitcoin BTC $101,722 and hold it for at least 20 years.
As for the current market state, Simpson believes that Bitcoin dominance — a measure of how much of the crypto market’s total value belongs to BTC — will “start to fall” and the “rotation” into altcoins has “actually begun” after Bitcoin started consolidating “around $100,000” and altcoins started “to climb.”
At the time of publication, Bitcoin dominance is 56.63%, down 7.20% over the past 30 days, according to TradingView data.
Crypto trader Momin told their 140,000 X followers on Dec. 13 that they “expect this downtrend in dominance to continue and possibly see alts run pretty hard in the coming week.”
However, Simpson believes transitioning into altcoin season won’t be so straightforward.
“I think it will be pretty volatile; I don’t think it will be straight into altcoin season,” he added.
Bitcoin will continue to be “part of the portfolio” for institutions
Meanwhile, Bitfinex analysts told Cointelegraph that based on returns, many altcoins have not yet breached new all-time highs in terms of their return against Bitcoin, “hence proving that Bitcoin had always been a fruitful and competitive investment, even when compared against Altcoins.”
“We believe that even post any pull back, Bitcoin will continue to be part of the portfolio of major institutions and that interest in Bitcoin will continue to grow,” the analysts said.
Bitfinex analysts said that with Bitcoin now surpassing six figures, as long as it maintains strong demand, any upcoming dips will be short-term and possibly a buying opportunity for investors:
“At a price of 100K, there has continued to be sufficient spot buying to sustain this level, and currently, leverage levels are reasonable, so even if a dip occurs, which won’t be surprising during the holiday season, the price trend is healthy and shows reasonable strength in the market for any dip to be bought.”
“Believers in Bitcoin are also becoming more adamant about the asset being a perfect substitute for gold and a true store of value,” Bitfinex analysts added.
On Nov. 23, Cointelegraph reported that global investment manager VanEck had reissued its $180,000 price target for Bitcoin at the current cycle’s peak.
VanEck digital asset analysts Nathan Frankovitz and Matthew Sigel said the next phase of the crypto bull market is only “just beginning.”
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