Will Bitcoin Price Hit $100K Ahead of Powell’s Testimony on Tuesday?

Fed chairman Jerome Powell’s hearings on February 11 and 12 might offer some volatility and catalyze a direction move for Bitcoin price, potentially pushing it to revisit $100K, ending its six-day consolidation. Will Bitcoin (BTC) react to this testimony and the upcoming macroeconomic events? How will this affect the crypto markets?

Will Bitcoin Price Hit $100K Before Powell’s Testimony?

Powell is set to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday at 10 AM. EST and the House Financial Services panel the following day. This is part of the chairman’s semiannual testimony to lawmakers and is unlikely to push Bitcoin price to hit $100K for numerous reasons.

The Fed chairman will likely indicate that the economy is resilient, highlight its dual mandate of maintaining price stability and achieving maximum employment, and take a data-driven approach to reducing inflation. Outside of the short-term volatility, the hearing will not affect BTC’s value.

According to Tim Duy of SGH Macro Advisors, the Fed speakers agree that no rate cuts will occur until the second half of the year. However, this outlook might quickly change as the January jobs report came in at 143K, lower than the consensus of 170K. A weaker jobs report might call for rate cuts and could be bullish for Bitcoin and crypto markets, which are risk-on assets.

According to Bloomberg economists,

“Chair Powell has said the Fed needs to see ‘real progress’ on inflation or some labor-market weakness to consider adjusting rates.”

If Powell acknowledges this during the testimony and hints at a rate cut before June 2025, it could catalyze a risk-on behavior and propel Bitcoin price higher.

While the jobs data showed weakness, the pickup in average hourly earnings and wages on par with the Fed’s expectations suggests that the central bank might stand its ground on the interest rate decision. The upcoming core CPI print, however, might be able to change this stance.

The Bloomberg economists further added.

“We think January’s CPI will offer mixed evidence. We expect headline and core CPI inflation both rose 0.3%”

If the core CPI comes in much higher than the consensus, it might push the Fed to reconsider its interest rate decision. Under these circumstances, Bitcoin price might kickstart an uptrend and potentially push toward $100K.

Nearly $80 Million Shorts Face Liquidation if BTC Price Hits $98K

According to data from Coinank, short positions worth $77.38 million on Binance, Bybit, and Okex will face liquidation if the Bitcoin price clears $97,722. This shows that the investors are heavily bearish and are in short positions to capitalize on their expectations.

On the contrary, $137 million long positions will be closed if Bitcoin price crashes below $96,174.

In the past 24 hours, roughly $247 million positions faced liquidations, highlighting the crypto markets’ overleveraged nature. Interestingly, Bitcoin & Ethereum contributed nearly $90 million to the total liquidations.

Bitcoin Price Today: What’s Next for BTC?

Bitcoin price today trades at $97,340.0 on 11 PM after hitting a daily high of $98,334.0 today after a 1.05% move on October 2.

Bitcoin currently hovers around $97K, the Point of Control (POC), the highest trading volume level since November 2024. This barrier serves as a key support level that has prevented a deeper collapse and explains the recent consolidation.

Bitcoin price prediction notes that a reversal here could propel BTC to value area high of $101.5K. However, overcoming this hurdle is critical for the uptrend to resume. Hence, the short-term upside for Bitcoin is capped at $101.5K.

On the other hand, a breakdown of the POC at $97K could trigger a crash to $93.3K, which is a stable support level. However, BTC is unlikely to stop here, and it could revisit $90.9K and $89K. Regardless, expecting BTC to hit $100K before Powell’s testimony is unlikely, but BTC could revisit the key level after this event especially if the core CPI comes in hotter than expectations.