Brief Bitcoin Increase Following Fed Minutes That Show Officials Support Slower Rate Increases

After minutes from the Federal Reserve's November meeting revealed that most central bankers favoured a slower pace of rate hikes moving forward, Bitcoin (BTC) momentarily increased by approximately 1%.

After the data was issued at 2:00 p.m. ET, Bitcoin increased from $16,448 to $16,565, but the majority of those gains were swiftly recovered. The biggest cryptocurrency was changing hands at roughly $16,429 at the time of publication.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members opted to increase interest rates by 75 basis points, or 0.75 percentage points, in November. This was the fourth rate increase of this size, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated in a news conference that a slower pace would be appropriate shortly.

There is currently a 75% possibility, according to traders in federal funds futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), that the Fed would proceed with a 50 basis point raise at its upcoming meeting on December 13–14 and a 25 basis point hike at its first two sessions in 2023.