Crypto Market Braces For Volatility With FOMC Decision In Focus

The crypto market has been moving towards the north through October, while continuing its rally on November 1 as well. However, some investors as well as market pundits are bracing for volatility in the digital assets space ahead of the FOMC decision, which is scheduled later today.

The Federal Reserve is expected to announce its decision on the policy rate hikes while addressing the current economic health. The still-high inflation, although cooled, has weighed on the market sentiment through the year, wiping off significant gains from the global financial markets, let alone the crypto market.

Is Fed Going To Announce Further Rate Hikes?

Although the market is anticipating a dovish remark from the Fed officials, any other move might trigger a sell-off in the market. Notably, according to the CME Fedwatch Tool, the market is anticipating a 97.2% chance for the Fed to keep the policy rates at the current range of 5.25% to 5.50%, with only 2.8% odds of another 25 bps point hike.

Considering that, several analysts believe that the Federal Reserve will likely maintain its current interest rates during its November policy meeting. In light of rising bond yields, decreasing inflation, and growing geopolitical concerns, this decision, if happens, will mark the second consecutive meeting in which the Fed has opted not to raise rates. Notably, as of writing the U.S. 10-year bond yield was up 0.55% to 4.904

The focus for investors will be on the Federal Open Market Committee’s statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments at the meeting’s conclusion. These remarks will provide insights into the possibility of a rate hike in December, the last meeting of the year.

While the U.S. economy continues to display strength, Fed officials have emphasized the need for an economic slowdown to curb inflation and align it with the central bank’s 2% annual target. Despite a 5.25-percentage-point increase in the federal funds rate since March 2022, the economy remains robust. Although inflation has slightly cooled in recent months, it has been challenging to bring it closer to the 2% target.

The U.S. GDP grew at a 4.9% rate in the third quarter, driven by strong consumer spending, underscores its resilience. The labor market is also solid, characterized by low unemployment, increased job postings, and rising wages. These recent economic indicators suggest that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to reduce rates in the near future.

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How The Crypto Market Is Faring?

As said earlier, the market seems to be bracing for volatile trading in the digital assets space, as evidenced by the recent market performance. Although the market has witnessed gains in the earlier session today, it drifted towards the south during writing.

As of reporting, the global crypto market cap was down 0.50% to $1.27 trillion, with the one-day trading volume declining 4.68% to $37.85 billion. Notably, the fear and greed index stayed at 72, indicating a bullish sentiment among the traders.

The losses in the broader market were mainly due to the losses in major cryptos today. For instance, the Bitcoin price declined 0.31% to $34,410.76 during writing, and its trading volume slumped 18.09% to $13.92 billion.

On the other hand, the Ethereum price plummeted 0.62% to $1,798.11 during writing, while the BNB price fell 1.88% to $224.05 over the last 24 hours. Simultaneously, the XRP price noted a decline of 0.81% to $0.5997, after touching a high of $0.6123 in the last 24 hours.

The Cardano price also witnessed a significant loss of 4.43% to trade at $0.2872. However, the Solana price showed resilience and added 6.54% from yesterday to trade at $38.99 as of writing.

So, given the current market sentiment, it appears the Fed will maintain its policy rates at a 22-year high to control inflation. However, the investors should exercise due diligence, as any other decision could negatively impact the broader financial markets.

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