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Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Hawkish Comments Throw Some Cold Water on Crypto
A December rate cut from the U.S. central bank might not be as sure of a thing as previously thought.
Updated Nov 14, 2024, 8:59 p.m. Published Nov 14, 2024, 8:50 p.m.
It's hardly a blip on the charts after the major run higher following the election of Donald Trump, but crypto markets did turn somewhat lower late in the U.S. trading day Thursday after a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
"The economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates," said Powell in prepared remarks at a Dallas conference. "The strength we are currently seeing in the economy gives us the ability to approach our decisions carefully."
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
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The price of bitcoin fell about 1.5% to $88,300 in the minutes following Powell's comments. The price at press time had dipped a bit further to $88,000, down 3.2% over the past 24 hours. Ether is down by a similar amount. The broader CoinDesk 20 Index, however, is up 0.5% over the same time frame. It's being led by a 13% advance for Ripple's , perhaps cheered by remarks from Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler which could be interpreted as his planning to quietly exit his job in wake of the Trump victory.
Just a few hours ago thought to be a certain thing, the chances of a Fed rate cut at its next meeting in mid-December have fallen to 62% in the wake of Powell's speech, according to CME FedWatch. One day ago, those chances stood at 83%.
Also on a tear of late, traditional markets pulled back a bit on the hawkish tone, led by the Nasdaq's 0.75% decline to a session low just a few minutes before the close of the trading day.
Crypto markets, of course, remain sharply higher of late, with bitcoin still sporting a 15% week-over-week gain and names like Cardano's , , and higher by 20%-40%.
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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.
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Crypto Markets Today: Bitcoin Slips Back Toward Danger Zone Ahead of Fed Decision
Bitcoin surrendered gains from earlier in the week, fell back toward $90,000 as traders braced for Wednesday’s Federal Reserve rate decision.
What to know:
- A 25 basis-point interest-rate cut has been priced in for weeks, and risk assets could drop on the news if no fresh catalysts emerge.
- Tokens like HYPE, STRK, QNT and KAS fell 6%–9% in 24 hours
- CoinMarketCap’s altcoin-season index sits at a cycle low of 18/100.
- Bitcoin is down 20% over 90 days and more than half of the top-100 tokens have fallen at least 40%. FET and TIA are among the worst performers while ZEC, DASH, BNB and BCH stand out as rare stabilizers.
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