Bitcoin Surpasses $63K

CoinDesk 20 Index: 1,925.79 +5.55%Bitcoin (BTC): $62,521.19 +4.22%Ether (ETH): $2,428.37 +5.2%S&P 500: 5,618.26 -0.29%Gold: $2,585.66 +1.03%Nikkei 225: 37,155.33 +2.13%

The Fed’s 50 basis point cut and the first bitcoin (BTC) purchase by a presidential candidate kept digital assets in the green during East Asian trading hours.

Fed members expect the median benchmark rate to fall to 4.4% by the end of the year, implying another cut of about 50 basis points (bps) at the next two Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings. Bitcoin is trading around $63,000, up 2.4% in the past 24 hours. The CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a measure of the largest digital assets, is up 3.4%.

Solana’s SOL is up 6% to lead the gains among the majors, while BNB Chain’s BNB token, XRP and Cardano’s ADA are up as much as 4.5%. Dogecoin (DOGE) and shiba inu (SHIB) coins are both up 4%.

Although the long-awaited interest rate cuts have had a positive impact on crypto markets, many investors expect the rally to be short-term.

Arthur Hayes of Maelstrom argues that rate cuts are not necessary and that a 50 basis point rate cut would trigger a brief market rally but would ultimately expose deeper problems in the global financial system and lead to lower prices. “I don’t think they should raise rates. I believe the U.S. economy is quite strong. If you’ve seen the GDP prints over the last eight or nine quarters, there’s been consistent growth.

“If they decide to continue lowering interest rates, inflation will accelerate into the fourth quarter.”

Crypto Finance, a subsidiary of Germany’s largest exchange operator, has signed a deal with Commerzbank (CBK) to offer trading services to the lender’s corporate clients, just two weeks after reaching a similar agreement with Switzerland’s Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB).

Commerzbank, the country’s second-largest bank by branch count, will provide custody services, the companies said in a press release today. The trading service, offered by the Deutsche Boerse unit, will be available to clients based in Germany and will initially focus on trading bitcoin and ether (ETH), the two largest cryptocurrencies.

The chart shows the short-term holder (STH) bitcoin realized price at $61,998. The STH realized price reflects the average cost of coins transferred and most likely to be spent over the last 155 days. Bitcoin has struggled to stay above this level for the last six months. Movement above the STH realized price suggests a more robust continuation of the bull market. Source: Glassnode