Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.
The price of Bitcoin, the top cryptocurrency, spiked to an intraday high of $38,820 on the Bitstamp exchange after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that it had left the overnight interest rate unchanged.
In its postmeeting statement, the Fed has indicated that it could raise rates in mid-March, but there is no concrete timeline for now.
The central bank was widely expected to signal that it would start hiking interest rates.
The Fed's hawkish shift has been seen as the biggest headwind for cryptocurrencies and equities.
In March 2020, the Federal Reserve slashed the benchmark short-term rate to a range of 0%-0.25%.
The central bank is also expected to phase out its unprecedented bond-buying program this March. It has now been reduced to just $30 billion a week.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell expects Omicron cases to "drop off rapidly," but he adds that the virus continues to cause "great hardship."
Inflation remains "way above" the central bank's goal of 2%, according to Powell:
We understand that high inflation imposes significant hardships.
Advertisement
When it comes to the rate policy, Powell says that no decision has been made so far, adding that Fed officials will be "guided by incoming data."
The Fed head says that there's "quite a bit of room" to move rates up without undermining the labor market.
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin