[Bitcoin Now] Relief Rally After Expected Giant Step... Surpasses $22,000 Level

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) executed a giant step by raising the benchmark interest rate by 0.75 percentage points at once as expected, and as the Nasdaq index, centered on tech stocks, rose more than 4%, Bitcoin prices also surged.

According to the global cryptocurrency market status relay site CoinMarketCap, as of 11:11 a.m. on the 28th, Bitcoin was priced at $22,742 (approximately 29.67 million KRW), up 7.56% from the previous day.

Bitcoin prices showed an upward trend as uncertainty was resolved when the Fed decided to raise the benchmark interest rate by 0.75 percentage points as the market expected. Previously, there was also a possibility of an ultra step (a 1.00 percentage point increase in the benchmark interest rate). In addition, the Nasdaq index, which shows synchronization, closing the market on an upward trend also appears to have driven the price increase. On the 27th (local time), the Nasdaq index closed at 12,032.42, up 469.85 points (4.06%). The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 436.05 points (1.37%) to 32,197.59, and the large-cap-focused S&P 500 index closed at 4,023.61, up 102.56 points (2.62%).

The U.S. stock market surged after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference that the pace of rate hikes would eventually slow down. Chair Powell said, "We could still see an unusually large rate hike at the next meeting," but added, "As the monetary policy stance becomes more restrictive, at some point it will be appropriate to slow the pace of rate hikes."

Meanwhile, according to the cryptocurrency data provider Alternative, the Fear & Greed Index, which indicates investor sentiment as an index, rose 4 points from the previous day to 32 points (fear) on the same day. Alternative's Fear & Greed Index means that the closer to 0 points, the more pessimistic fear investors feel about investing, and the closer to 100 points, the more optimistic they are.