$60,000 Reclaimed in 2 Weeks... FOMC 'Big Cut' Expectations [Bitcoin Now]

US CPI Release... Inflation Hits Lowest in 3 Years 6 Months
Rate Cut Expectations... Big Cut Estimated Over '50%'
Trump and Harris Presidential Candidates, Close in Polls

Jerome Powell, Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Bitcoin market in the second week of September showed a gradual upward trend, recovering to $60,000 at dawn on the 14th (Korean time). The U.S. economic indicators released this week pointed to the possibility of a 'big cut' (50bp interest rate cut) at the September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. According to U.S. public opinion polls, presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has positioned himself as a 'pro-cryptocurrency president,' is in a close race with candidate Kamala Harris, and the market is observed to be reacting sensitively to macroeconomic indicators.

According to the global cryptocurrency market tracking site CoinMarketCap, as of 12:27 PM on the 14th (Korean time), the price of Bitcoin was $64,449.38, up 4.18% from the previous day. Compared to a week ago, it rose 12.28%, and compared to a month ago, it increased by 3.49%. The year-over-year increase stands at 130.09%.

The price, which started at the $53,000 range on the 8th, maintained an upward trend this week. During and after the first presidential debate between Democratic candidate Harris and Republican candidate Trump on the 10th (local time), cryptocurrency prices temporarily fell. Afterwards, the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate recorded 2.5%, the lowest in 3 years and 6 months, raising expectations for a rate cut and triggering a price rebound. High inflation is considered the biggest obstacle to a U.S. interest rate cut. Bitcoin prices reclaimed the $60,000 level at dawn on the 14th, about two weeks since the end of August.

The U.S. economic indicators were instrumental in Bitcoin regaining the $60,000 level on this day. According to the University of Michigan on the 13th (local time), the preliminary consumer sentiment index for September was 69.0. This is about a 2% increase from the confirmed figure of 67.9 in August. It is also the highest level since May this year. The one-year expected inflation for September was recorded at 2.7%, the lowest level since December last year.

MicroStrategy's additional accumulation of Bitcoin also acted as a positive factor for investor sentiment. Michael Saylor, co-founder of MicroStrategy, publicly announced on his X (formerly Twitter) account on the 13th (local time) that he purchased an additional 18,300 Bitcoins, increasing the total holdings to 244,800 Bitcoins. He also revealed that the purchase price per coin was $60,408, totaling approximately $1.11 billion.

The cryptocurrency industry's attention is focused on the upcoming September FOMC next week. The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) will hold the FOMC meeting on the 17th-18th to decide the benchmark interest rate. As the market increasingly anticipates a big cut, expectations for risk assets overall have also risen. According to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) FedWatch tool on the 13th (local time), the federal funds futures market adjusted the probability of a 50bp rate cut at the September FOMC to 51%. This is a sharp increase from around 15% the previous morning to over 50% within a day.

According to cryptocurrency data provider Alternative, the fear and greed index representing investor sentiment was 50 points (neutral) on this day. This is higher than last week's 23 points (extreme fear). Alternative's fear and greed index ranges from 0 points, indicating extreme fear and pessimism about investing, to 100 points, indicating optimism.