The price of Bitcoin (BTC) rallied above $23,000 U.S. as stocks moved higher on news that the U.S. Federal Reserve may slow the pace of interest rate hikes in coming months.
Cryptocurrencies have been closely correlated to U.S. stocks, in particular technology securities, which rose 4% yesterday (July 27).
Bitcoin traded as high as $23,168.88 U.S., up 9% in the past 24 hours, according to data from CoinGecko. The price of the largest digital asset was most recently trading right around $22,900 U.S.
Other cryptocurrencies rose too, with the price of Ethereum gaining 13% to trade at $1,645.56 U.S. per digital token.
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.75 percentage points as its looks to fight inflation without tipping the U.S. economy into a recession. But the central bank’s Chair Jerome Powell suggested that the pace of rate increases could slow in coming months, sparking a rally in stocks.
Bitcoin is attempting to stage a sustained rally after several failed attempts in recent weeks. The cryptocurrency has been trading within a range of $19,000 U.S. to $24,000 U.S. since mid-June. Year-to-date, Bitcoin is down about 50%.
The entire cryptocurrency market has been harmed this year as macroeconomic issues have taken their toll and several crypto companies have ceased operations. Two high-profile examples are crypto lender Celsius and hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, each of which has filed for bankruptcy.
