Following Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's press statement following a 25 basis point interest rate cut, the Bitcoin price experienced a significant initial drop.
This decline was attributed to Jerome Powell's earlier statement in December, which indicated that a rate cut was not a certainty. Prior to this, all financial markets had been anticipating another 25 basis point cut in December.
Powell further explained that the Federal Reserve was unable to access data and foresee future economic conditions due to the government shutdown. Detailed insights from Powell's speech are available in the accompanying news report.
In the hour following the initial decline and subsequent recovery, the cryptocurrency market saw liquidations totaling $304 million. Of this amount, $264 million were long positions.