Bitcoin climbs above $60,000 ahead of Fed rate decision

Bitcoin reclaimed $60,000 on Tuesday as investors awaited details of the Federal Reserve’s rate cutting plans.

The price of the flagship cryptocurrency was last higher by 4.3% at $60,394.41, according to Coin Metrics. At one point, it rose as high as $61,335.83. It got an initial lift on Monday night as former President Donald Trump unveiled his new crypto venture, World Financial Liberty Coin.

Bitcoin breached the $60,000 level Tuesday morning as the Federal Reserve kicked off its two-day policy meeting. The central bank is widely expected to cut interest rates for the first time in four years, which would likely boost risk assets including bitcoin.

Bitcoin “is likely to react to the news of a Fed rate cut with some retrenchment as the short-term market dynamics filter out,” said Philipp Pieper, co-founder of Swarm Markets. “But the longer-term implications of easing monetary conditions lend themselves to a fresh bull cycle for bitcoin, ether and the rest of the market. In the past, bitcoin has correlated somewhat to major tech indices such as the Nasdaq, and broadly moves in line with monetary conditions, as investors hunt for yield in lower-rate environments.”

The market is divided on whether the Fed would reduce rates by 25 or 50 basis points. Currently, traders are pricing in a 63% chance that the central bank eases rates by 50 basis points, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. One basis point equals 0.01%.

Bitcoin has been trading in a range between $55,000 and $70,000 this year. Investors have been anticipating Fed rate cuts, the growth of bitcoin ETFs and the outcome of the U.S. presidential election as the next catalysts to shake up the crypto market.