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First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Hovers Around $27K Ahead of Fed Decision
The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for Sept. 20, 2023.
Updated Sep 20, 2023, 12:01 p.m. Published Sep 20, 2023, 12:01 p.m.
This article originally appeared in First Mover, CoinDesk’s daily newsletter putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context. Subscribe to get it in your inbox every day.
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Volatility, or the degree of price turbulence, in bitcoin remains suppressed, consistent with the calm in U.S. stock and bond markets. The low volatility will likely continue after Wednesday's Federal Reserve rate decision, according to some crypto traders. The Fed will announce the rate decision at 14:00 ET accompanied by a statement, the Summary of Economic Projections and a new "dot plot" of interest-rate estimates. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will follow with a press conference 30 minutes later. To tame inflation, the central bank has raised rates by 525 basis points since March 2022, with the early phase of the so-called tightening cycle injecting volatility into the liquidity-addicted crypto and traditional markets.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s dad, Joe Bankman, was paid a $200,000 salary by FTX’s U.S. division, according to the filing from FTX’s bankruptcy estate, which just sued the parents. But that wasn’t enough, he said, telling an FTX executive in a Jan. 12, 2022, message that he was supposed to get $1 million annually starting the previous month, according to the filing. Then he emailed his son. “Gee, Sam I don’t know what to say here,” he wrote, according to the filing. “This is the first [I] have heard of the 200K a year salary! Putting Barbara on this.” Barbara is former FTX CEO Bankman-Fried’s mom, Barbara Fried.
Bitcoin trading volumes on Binance have tumbled this month as lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny mount on the world’s largest crypto exchange. According to K33 Research, Binance’s seven-day average spot BTC volume is down 57% since the beginning of September versus roughly flat readings at a number of other exchanges. Volumes at U.S.-based competitor Coinbase are 9% higher. The dramatic decline comes as Binance is in the crosshairs of regulators around the world following a string of lawsuits, license rejections and voluntary withdrawals. Prosecutors at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) are reportedly weighing charges against the company, while the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) three months ago sued Binance, the exchange’s U.S. entity Binance.US and founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, alleging breaches of multiple federal securities laws.
Chart of the Day
- The chart shows top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
- , the native token of the decentralized layer one blockchain The Open Network, formerly known as Telegram Open Network, has replaced programmable blockchain solana's SOL token as the 10th largest cryptocurrency.
- At press time, TON had a market value of $8.618 billion.
- Telegram and the TON Foundation jointly announced Ton Space, a new self-custodial wallet, at last week's Token 2049 conference in Singapore.
- Source: Coingecko
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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.
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Dogecoin, PEPE rocket as much as 25% as 2026 starts with a bang for memecoins
The broader meme coin market is heating up, with CoinGecko's GMCI Meme Index showing a market value of $33.8 billion and a trading volume of $5.9 billion.
What to know:
- Dogecoin and Pepe led a significant meme coin rally, with Dogecoin rising 11% and Pepe surging 17% in a single day.
- The broader meme coin market is heating up, with CoinGecko's GMCI Meme Index showing a market value of $33.8 billion and a trading volume of $5.9 billion.
- Traders are speculating on meme coins as a high-risk, high-reward opportunity amid uneven liquidity and a lack of clear macroeconomic catalysts.
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