Bitcoin Stable Amid $23K Ahead of First FOMC Meeting of 2023: Market Watch

The first US FOMC meeting is scheduled to conclude today, and expectations suggest that the Fed will raise the interest rates with another 25 basis points.

Amid the growing anticipation, bitcoin, and most of the crypto market, stand calmly, but history shows that there might be a lot of volatility later in the day.

Calm Before the Storm?

The primary cryptocurrency tapped a five-month peak at just inches away from $24,000 on Sunday evening but was stopped before having the chance to reclaim that level shortly after.

The subsequent rejection pushed the asset south hard, and BTC found itself slipping by over $1,500 to a multi-day low of $22,400 (on Bitstamp).

The bulls came back to play a day later and helped bitcoin recover some ground. As such, it spiked back to $23,000 and has spent most of the last 24 hours around that line.

All eyes from the financial markets today are on the conclusion of the first FOMC meeting of the year. In just a few hours, Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to announce the latest interest rate hike of 25 basis points.

Given the historical relationship between these events and BTC, it’s safe to assume that there will be more price fluctuations during the day.

Altcoins Stand Quiet As Well

Even the typically more volatile alternative coins are quite stagnant on a 24-hour scale. Ethereum spiked above $1,600 earlier today amid news concerning the Shanghai update but retraced shortly after and currently sits beneath that level.

Binance Coin is down by over 1% in the same timeframe but still stands above $399. Dogecoin, Polygon, OKB, Solana, Polkadot, Shiba Inu, and Avalanche are also with small losses now.

Cardano is up by 2% after the launch of the native overcollaterized stablecoin – Djed. Litecoin, ATOM, and Ripple have charted minor gains as well.

The overall crypto market cap remains as well at just under $1,050 trillion.