Bitcoin price today: dips to 7-wk low near $110k amid Fed independence worries

Investing.com-- Bitcoin slumped to a seven-week low on Tuesday as traders shunned risk after U.S. President Donald Trump’s unprecedented dismissal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook deepened worries about the central bank’s independence.

As of 10:09 ET (14:09 GMT), the world’s largest cryptocurrency traded 1.9% lower at $110,270, its lowest since July 9.

It has now retreated nearly 12% from an August record peak above $124,000, erasing much of the rally built on bets the Fed would soon pivot to rate cuts.

Trump fires Fed Governor Lisa Cook

Trump on Monday announced he had fired Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud, accusing her of misrepresenting home-ownership status in 2021 loan documents. 

The allegations, referred to the Justice Department by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, are disputed by Cook, who said her dismissal was unlawful and undermined the Fed’s political independence, according to a Washington Post report.

The rare removal of a sitting Fed governor jolted markets, raising fears of political interference in monetary policy. Investors struggled to assess whether the Fed can deliver policy guidance free of political pressure.

The move follows weeks of Trump criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom he has publicly pressured to cut rates more aggressively.

Bitcoin and other digital assets are particularly sensitive to shifts in U.S. interest-rate expectations because lower borrowing costs tend to boost demand for speculative assets. 

Analyst says ETH remains undervalued despite record highs

Ethereum has rallied sharply and recently hit new record highs, but Standard Chartered says the token and related corporate treasuries remain undervalued.

Geoff Kendrick, head of digital assets research, noted that treasury companies and ETFs have absorbed nearly 5% of ETH in circulation since June, pushing the price to an all-time high on August 24.

He argued that “ETH and the ETH treasury companies are cheap at today’s levels” and forecast ETH could reach $7,500 by year-end, with treasury firms potentially owning up to 10% of supply.

Kendrick highlighted that firms such as Sharplink (NASDAQ:SBET) and Bitmine (NYSE:BMNR) trade at valuations below MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), despite benefiting from Ethereum’s staking yield.

“Given that the ETH treasury companies are able to capture ETH’s 3% staking yield I see no reason for the net asset value (NAV) multiples to be below MSTR’s multiple,” he wrote.

He added that SBET’s buyback pledge sets “a hard floor” for valuations and argued that ETH treasury vehicles have structural advantages over U.S. spot ETH ETFs.

Crypto price today: altcoins tumble amid broader risk-off mood

Most altcoins fell sharply on Tuesday in a broad-based sell-off following Trump’s announcement.

World no. 2 crypto Ethereum dropped 3.6% to $4,470.85, after hitting a record high of $4,955 earlier this week..

World no. 3 crypto XRP fell 1.4% to $2.91.

Solana dipped 4.4%, while Cardano slipped 2.5%, and Polygon traded 2.3% lower.

Among meme tokens, Dogecoin dropped nearly 4%, while $TRUMP retreated 1.9%.

(Ayushman Ojha contributed to this report.)