Is this U.S.-China selloff a buy? A top Wall Street voice weighs in
Investing.com-- Bitcoin rose slightly on Thursday, with broader crypto markets also advancing after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates and flagged more monetary easing, largely in line with market expectations.
Crypto markets were also encouraged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approving new listing standards for exchange-traded products, opening the door for more funds tracking cryptos.
But caution over the Fed’s outlook on the economy and inflation, coupled with persistent doubts over corporate crypto treasuries, kept overall gains in crypto markets limited.
Bitcoin rose 1% to $117,400 by 09:42 ET (13:42 GMT).
Fed cuts rates by 25 bps as expected, sees more cuts
The Fed cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 4.0% to 4.25%, as expected, on Wednesday.
The central bank’s forecasts showed policymakers supporting more easing in the remainder of the year, especially if the labor market continued to deteriorate.
But Fed Chair Jerome Powell still flagged risks towards the U.S. economy, especially from a cooling labor market and sticky inflation. Powell also largely dismissed calls for a bigger, 50 basis point cut, as demanded by President Donald Trump and his allies.
Lower rates bode well for crypto, given that they encourage more capital into speculative markets. The sector’s 2021 bull run was driven chiefly by global interest rates falling to near zero levels in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
SEC overhauls ETF listing rules, opens door for more crypto funds
The SEC on Wednesday evening approved changes proposed by three national securities exchanges that allowed them to use generic listing standards for new cryptocurrency and spot commodity exchange-traded products.
These new standards removed the previous requirement that each spot crypto ETF filing go through a custom, case-by-case regulatory review. With the new generic standards, the SEC reduced the maximum time from filing to launch for eligible spot crypto ETFs to 75 days.
The first ETFs under the new rules were expected to track cryptocurrencies like Solana and XRP.
The SEC decision is also expected to open the door for many more crypto ETFs, given that it outlines a more streamlined process for listing.
BNB tops $1,000 for first time, reclaims 5th spot
BNB surged past $1,000 for the first time on Thursday, extending a broader crypto rally and briefly topping Solana to retake its spot as the fifth-largest digital asset by market value.
The coin hit a new record high of $1,004, before slightly retreating to $995.13, up around 5% in the past 24 hours. The surge lifted its market cap to $138.7 billion.
The gains come amid a broader crypto market rally. Moreover, reports suggested that Binance is in discussions with the U.S. Department of Justice to end the court-appointed monitoring imposed under its $4.3 billion settlement in 2023.
A revised deal would shift the exchange to a tighter internal reporting framework, similar to other firms that have exited oversight.
Speculation on social media about the possible return of co-founder Changpeng Zhao — though unconfirmed — has likely also added to the optimism surrounding BNB.
Crypto price today: altcoins, memecoins upbeat after Fed decision
Broader crypto prices mostly advanced on Thursday, as traders welcomed the prospect of more U.S. interest rate cuts. But gains were limited across the board.
World no.2 crypto Ether rose 2.1% to $4,582.34, while XRP rose 3.1% to $3.12.
Solana and Cardano jumped more than 5% each.
Among memecoins, Dogecoin popped 6.3%, while $TRUMP added 1.7%.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.)