Share this article
Ether, Cardano, XRP Among Cryptos Taking New Leg Higher as Scott Bessent Floats 50 Basis Point Rate Cut
Bitcoin also crossed back above $120,000, but it's underperforming much of the rest of the cryptocurrency sector.
Aug 12, 2025, 9:12 p.m.
What to know:
- Altcoins rallied further late in Tuesday afternoon U.S. action after dovish comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
- Ether topped $4,600 for the first time in nearly five years, now higher by more than 50% in a month alongside continuing bullish technical signals.
- Cardano, Solana, XRP, Avalanche and Litecoin all logged strong daily gains, while Bitcoin traded only modestly higher at $120,000.
Altcoins added to their rally during late Tuesday U.S. afternoon hours after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested the Federal Reserve should consider a 50 basis point rate cut at its upcoming September meeting.
"The real thing now to think about is should we get a 50 basis-point rate cut in September," Bessent told Fox News. Bessent added that the Fed could have cut rates in June if it had been given accurate data, which he described as a “foundational issue" at the central bank.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Markets had already about fully priced in a 25 basis point move in September, but the idea of 50 basis points appeared to juice things further.
To be sure, Bessent is Treasury Secretary and not a member of the Federal Reserve, let alone its chairman. Bessent, however, has been tasked by President Trump with selecting a replacement for Fed Chair Powell, so his words surely carry some weight.
Already higher on the day, ether jumped further, now higher by nearly 9% over the past 24 hours and above $4,600 for the first time since November 2021.
Other moves include , solana and , each ahead about 8% over the past 24 hours, while is up 3.5%.
Bitcoin bulls stayed on the sidelines during today’s rally, which also lifted equity markets by more than 1%. The cryptocurrency is trading at $120,000, little changed over the past 24 hours. The dollar weakened against all major currencies.
The rally got started early on Tuesday morning after new data showed consumer prices rising roughly in line with estimates in July.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Coinbase Sees Crypto Recovery Ahead as Liquidity Improves and Fed Rate Cut Odds Climb
The crypto exchange also took note of a so-called AI bubble that continues to go strong and a weaker U.S. dollar.
What to know:
- Coinbase Institutional is seeing a potential December recovery in crypto, citing improving liquidity and a shift in macroeconomic conditions that could favor risk assets like bitcoin.
- The firm's optimism is driven by rising odds of Federal Reserve rate cuts, with markets pricing in a 93% chance easing next week, and improving liquidity conditions.
- Several recent institutional developments, including Vanguard's crypto ETF policy reversal and Bank of America's greenlighting of crypto allocations, have contributed to bitcoin's rebound from recent lows.
Top Stories
