Share this article
Bitcoin Tumbles Below $21K After Powell’s Hawkish Remarks
The Federal Reserve chair said households and businesses should prepare for pain as the central bank works to bring down inflation.
By Helene Braun
Updated May 11, 2023, 6:21 p.m. Published Aug 26, 2022, 4:30 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
Bitcoin (BTC) dropped almost 5% in value in the two hours following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s long-awaited keynote address at the Fed's Jackson Hole, Wyoming, economic conference Friday morning. Equity markets slid with crypto, with the S&P 500 index down more than 2%.
“The stock market had not priced this in except the last couple of days and it’s because the risk was that they would be hawkish, not the belief,” Bob Iaccino, chief strategist at Path Trading Partners and co-portfolio manager at Stock Think Tank, told CoinDesk.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
“[The market] is pricing it in now at least as much as it believes the Fed, but it's about Powell’s legacy and his credibility at this point,” he added. Iaccino further noted that markets had rallied ahead of the speech – perhaps anticipating more dovish remarks – thus likely exacerbating today’s decline.
From Powell’s address: “Reducing inflation is likely to require a sustained period of below-trend growth … While higher interest rates, slower growth and softer labor market conditions will bring down inflation, they will also bring some pain to households and businesses.”
Read more: Markets Should Prepare for Persistent Inflation and Continued Rate Hikes
The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, bitcoin initially showed little reaction to Powell’s remarks, but has now turned sharply lower – to the current $20,700 from just shy of $22,000 ahead of the speech.
In addition to the S&P 500’s 2.15% decline, the Nasdaq is lower by 2.7% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 1.8%.
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
How a 'perpetual’ stock trick could solve Michael Saylor’s $8 billion debt problem
The bitcoin treasury firm is using perpetual preferreds to retire convertibles, offering a potential framework for managing long-dated leverage.
What to know:
- Strive upsized its SATA follow on offering beyond $150 million, pricing the perpetual preferred at $90.
- The structure offers a blueprint for replacing fixed maturity convertibles with perpetual equity capital that removes refinancing risk.
- Strategy has a $3 billion convertible tranche due in June 2028 with a $672.40 conversion price, which could be addressed using a similar preferred equity approach.
Top Stories
