KEY POINTS:

  • The Fed's rate cuts had a negative impact on the crypto market today.

  • As the year nears its end, the FOMO trade may also be reaching an end.

  • 10 stocks we like better than Bitcoin

The crypto momentum we saw throughout the fall and winter has bottomed out in the past 24 hours after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates. That may sound good on the surface, but as part of the rate cut, the Fed also expects inflation and unemployment to rise more than previously expected in 2025. In addition, investors are now selling riskier assets.

Bitcoin ($BTC  -8.96%) is the biggest loser, falling 6.2% in the past 24 hours as of 3 p.m. ET and dropping below the $100,000 level. Ethereum ($ETH  -16.29%) is down 9.7% in that time to $3,350 and Dogecoin ($DOGE  -28.29%) is off 16.8% to $0.3032.


The Fed's impact on crypto:

While cryptocurrencies are being promoted as a way to save financial culture, crypto markets are trading like cultural threats like rising stocks. In this case, when interest rates rise, major stocks fall and cryptocurrencies follow suit.

I mentioned that the Fed cut rates yesterday, but the market saw inflation as a threat to long-term bonds, and yields on those bonds rose after the rate cut was announced. According to Bloomberg, the 10-year Treasury note rose 6 basis points the previous day and 64 basis points last year.

As seen in 2022, the higher the interest rate, the lower the cryptocurrency.

Questions heading into 2025:

Last year’s results were based on the impact and power of factors like the adoption of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and voting. But in 2025, these factors may be few and far between, with many new vendors driving prices, such as Bitcoin.

It’s worth noting that MicroStrategy fell through with its relatively small litigation process. It’s also the single largest Bitcoin vendor on the market, so its multi-billion dollar trading volume is a major driver of Bitcoin’s price. And as Bitcoin goes, so does crypto, meaning everything is cheaper than it is today.

***Don’t let others invest while you stand on the sidelines.***