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Bitcoin Bounces Above $84K as Fed's Williams Puts December Rate Cut Back on Table
Previously having essentially written off chances of further monetary ease in 2025, interest rate traders are now pricing more than a 70% chance of a rate cut at the Federal Reserve's December meeting.
Updated Nov 21, 2025, 2:38 p.m. Published Nov 21, 2025, 1:34 p.m.
What to know:
- NY Fed President John Williams said Friday there's still room to adjust policy in the near term, putting a potential rate cut in December back on the table.
- Continuing in the grip of panicky selling, bitcoin managed to bounce back over $84,000 from its morning low below $81,000; U.S. stock index futures rose as well.
- The Fed's surprise hawkish pivot in late October contributed to bitcoin's rapid slide over the past weeks, now down more than 30% from its record level.
Bitcoin staged a modest rebound in morning U.S. hours Friday after a 10% selloff overnight as the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate cut in December jumped sharply following dovish remarks from New York Fed President John Williams.
"I still see room for a further adjustment in the near term to the target range for the federal-funds rate to move the stance of policy closer to the range of neutral," Williams told the WSJ. "Looking ahead, it is imperative to restore inflation to our 2% longer-run goal on a sustained basis. It is equally important to do so without creating undue risks to our maximum employment goal."
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Williams' comments stand in stark contrast to those of leading Fed hawk, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, who yesterday more or less brushed off any labor market worry, instead choosing to focus on inflation and what she believes is a bubbly stock market.
Williams comments had immediate effect upon hitting the tape, sending the price of bitcoin from about the $81,000 to back above $84,000. It's was trading at $83,500 at press time, still down 9.5% over the past 24 hours. Nasdaq 100 futures also moved to a 0.35% gain versus about flat prior to the remarks.
Odds for a 25 basis point rate cut at the Fed’s December meeting spiked to 70%, up sharply from just 39% a day ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
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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.
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