XRP, Ethereum, and Solana are slumping as hawkish Fed haunts crypto

This week’s slump in the crypto market hasn’t abated.

Over the past 24 hours, the price of Bitcoin has dropped 7.3% to now $94,662. And Ether has plummeted 13% to $3,213.

The flagging market has been especially brutal for dominant altcoins. Solana is down 14%, Cardano has dropped 18%, and XRP, the token linked to Ripple, tanked almost 13%.

The drawback is a continuation of bearish sentiment from earlier in the week.

On Wednesday, Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, hinted that interest rate cuts will slow in 2025. Bitcoin dropped in price soon after.

“The market is reacting strongly to expectation setting from the Fed on rate cuts next year,” Lennix Lai, the chief commercial officer at crypto exchange OKX, told DL News.

Still, the crypto market hovers near historic highs after Donald Trump’s win in November sparked a wave of industry optimism.

Its total value is about $3.5 trillion, which is more than double what the market was worth at the end of 2023.

‘Priced in’

Lai cautioned that this week’s pullback may persist in the short-term, and prices may remain volatile.

“The approaching holiday season has historically brought reduced liquidity conditions,” he said.

And, he said, Trump’s pro-crypto stance is now largely priced in.

“Traders should remain mindful that the path to institutional adoption and policy reform will likely be gradual rather than immediate,” Lai concluded, “even with potential changes in the US administration.”

Crypto market movers

• Bitcoin is down 7.3% over the past 24 hours to $94,662.
• Ethereum is down 13% over the past 24 hours to $3,213.

What we’re reading

• Why BlackRock’s Bitcoin explainer is raising alarm bells — DL News
• Why did markets just tank? — Milk Road
• This AI agent trades crypto for you — Milk Road
• Billionaire Justin Sun allegedly pushed CoinDesk’s new owners to remove banana article, editorial chair Matt Murray resigns — Fortune
• Sam Altman’s Worldcoin has ‘homework’ to do for GDPR compliance: German data probe — DL News