Bitcoin dips below $43,000 as Fed says rate hike 'soon'

A rate hike in March is highly likely following Wednesday's FOMC minutes, but stocks are also worried about geopolitical instability this week.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $43,000 on Feb. 17, after volatility the previous day raised hopes of an imminent breakout.

Fed hikes rates

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that BTC has slightly expanded its trading range over the past 24 hours, reaching a ceiling of $44,500.

The Bitcoin pair returned to the top of its intraday range overnight after the Fed’s comments.

The minutes of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting at the end of January, expected to provide clues about a possible rate hike, ended with few surprises. A rate hike may be in March, but there is no firm commitment to the rate hike process.

"The committee seeks to maximize employment and inflation at 2 percent over the long term," the accompanying statement said.

“In support of these goals, the Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0% to 1/4%. With inflation well above 2% and a strong job market, the Committee expects an appropriate increase in the federal funds rate target soon. interval"

The FOMC added that it aims to halt asset purchases entirely in March, in line with previous plans to buy at least $30 billion in February.

The cryptocurrency market entered a dreary state on Thursday as there was little news. However, optimism about Bitcoin’s price action over the past two weeks remains firmly in place.

"My bias has changed and now leans towards a squeeze towards 53k by mid-March," popular trader and analyst Pentoshi said in his recent Twitter update.

Others similarly pointed to a relatively strong price performance this month compared to the previous few times when Bitcoin pulled back from its all-time highs in November.

For example, a miner capitulation event — where miners were forced to sell or stop mining entirely because Bitcoin’s spot price was below its cost of production — was successfully avoided through a price rally near $33,000 in January.

As Cointelegraph reported, support levels have been building up in recent days as buyers bet on a potential drop that is not as steep as previously expected.

Tensions persist over Russian stocks, cryptocurrencies

Other macro signals for the day were fresh uncertainty over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, with reports of hostilities emerging overnight.

Stock market futures were down at least 0.5% before Wall Street opened.

Earlier, the U.S. government called claims that Russia was trying to de-escalate the Ukrainian border, a claim that could have calmed a tense market.

"Yesterday, the Russian government said it was withdrawing its troops from the Ukrainian border ... We now know this was wrong," the Financial Times quoted a senior official as saying on Wednesday.

Bitcoin and altcoins remain highly correlated with stocks as 2022 unfolds.