Markets
Crypto Markets Fall as Powell Keeps Interest Rates Firm
Bitcoin fell 2% and Ethereum dropped 1.5%, while Solana and Polkadot saw small gains.
Cryptocurrency markets traded lower on Monday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the U.S. central bank was not yet ready to cut interest rates.
Bitcoin fell 2% to $61,850, while Ethereum fell 1.5%. Meanwhile, Solana and Polkadot are trading flat on the day.
“Bitcoin dominance has fallen by over 5% in the past few days, from 52.8% on June 25 to around 50% today. Such a decline typically encourages market diversification, prompting investors to explore other digital assets,” said Tristan Frizza, founder of Zeta Markets.
Among the top 100 digital assets by market cap, Solana memecoin BONK (BONK) and gaming blockchain Beam (BEAM) were the biggest gainers over the past 24 hours, rising 7% and 6%, respectively.
“We have made good progress in bringing inflation back to our target,” Powell told a central bankers’ forum in Europe. “We want to be more confident that inflation is moving sustainably downward toward 2% before we begin the process of tapering or easing policy.”
On July 1, Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) attracted inflows of $129.5 million, the highest amount since June 7, according to Farside data.
Leading the charge, Fidelity’s FBTC received $65.0 million in inflows. Bitwise’s BITB attracted $41.4 million, and ARK’s ARKB gained $12.7 million. In total, Bitcoin ETFs have accumulated $14.7 billion in assets since their launch in January.
According to a research report released by cryptocurrency exchange Gemini on Monday, Ether spot ETFs — once approved for trading in the U.S. — could attract net inflows of up to $5 billion in the first six months.
U.S. stocks were flat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%, while the S&P 500 jumped 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5%.