Bitcoin’s Coveted $88,000 Peak In 2024 Holds Despite Powell Scattering Hope For March Rate Cut

Bitcoin turned bloody on Wednesday following the announcement of interest rates by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and remarks by Fed Chair Jerome Powell on the expected rate cuts in 2024.

Forced to put up with the disappointing news, some investors reacted by selling BTC, resulting in a drop below $43,000. According to Powell, the FOMC meeting did not conclude to anticipate a rate cut in March.

“I don’t think it’s likely that the committee will reach a level of confidence by the time of the March meeting to identify March as the time to [cut rates],” Powell said in his speech.

Powell gives a hard shove *against* a March cut:

“I don’t think it’s likely that the committee will reach a level of confidence by the time of the March meeting to identify March as the time to [cut], but that’s to be seen.”

— Nick Timiraos (@NickTimiraos) January 31, 2024

Bitcoin and other risky investments took a beating after the speech, suggesting investors grew less optimistic. Interestingly, even the news of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates steady at 5.25%-5.5% in their first meeting of the year couldn’t stop the sell-off.

In light of the many rate hikes seen since 2022, it had become apparent that unchanged rates meant a better outlook for Bitcoin and crypto. However, this time market participants focused on when they can expect the first rate cut, considering Powell anticipated at least 3 cuts in 2024 during the previous FOMC meeting.

Can Bitcoin Price Peak At $88,000 In 2024?

The market could have “gotten ahead of itself on the rate side,” according to the co-founder of Asgard Markets, Alex Krüger. However, as for Bitcoin, this might prove to be a temporary setback, especially now that fresh optimism is starting to build ahead of a pre-halving rally.

Every four years, Bitcoin undergoes a cycle engraved in its code, which reduces miner rewards by half. Following the previous halving in 2020, Bitcoin price parabolically to $69,000.

For ardent crypto investors, this correction is a time to accumulate more BTC before the next leg up. Rekt Capital, a crypto trader, and analyst reinforced this insight using a chart posted on X.

#BTC

This cycle has been a story of Re-Accumulation Ranges, heading into the Halving$BTC #Crypto #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/PFHAIEg3vC

— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) January 31, 2024

In the meantime, Bitcoin is back to trading above confluence support of around $42,208 formed by the 50 Exponential Moving Average (EMA) and the 200 EMA.

A daily close is required above the 20 EMA, currently the immediate resistance. If confidence in the uptrend grows encouraging more traders to take up long positions in BTC, the price could peak above $44,000 before or during the weekend.

Bitcoin price chart

Over 40 cryptocurrency and fintech specialists consulted by Finder.com, predict that Bitcoin could rise to $88,000 in 2024. According to a press release accompanying the report, following the climb to $88,000, a drop to $77,000 would materialize ahead of another major run to “$123,000 in 2025 and $367,000 in 2030.”

Most experts agree that halving will be the biggest catalyst for the bull run. Vetle Lunde, senior analyst at K33 Research opined that “The halving, easing macro conditions and enhanced access through ETFs are fundamentally positive price forces for the year as a whole.”

In the medium term, Bitcoin price may continue rangebound between support at $38,000 and resistance at $48,000, allowing for re-accumulation in preparation for the rally.

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