Bitcoin down over 4.4% on fading Fed rate cut expectations

ISTANBUL

Bitcoin fell more than 4.4% on Wednesday, continuing its downward trend as the US Federal Reserve rate cut expectations further declined.

The largest cryptocurrency was trading at $88,640 at 1945GMT Wednesday, after falling below $90,000 level for the first time since April on Tuesday.

Data from CoinMarketCap showed the value of the global cryptocurrency market, including Bitcoin, fell about 5.4% in the last 24 hours to $3.02 trillion.

Bitcoin’s market capitalization dropped by 5.1% over the past day to $1.76 trillion, while the daily trading volume declined 35% to $74 billion.

The largest cryptocurrency's weekly losses extended to 12.5% as of Wednesday. Bitcoin fell to as low as $74,400 in April 2025 after US President Donald Trump's tariffs swept global financial markets.

Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, slid about 9.1% to $2,870.

The global crypto market was hit hard by uncertainties surrounding monetary policy, and the fading expectations of a rate cut in December by the US Federal Reserve.

The minutes of the last meeting of the Fed that were released on Wednesday showed that officials could not agree on whether a stagnant labor market or persistent inflation posed greater economic risks, and also on the interest rate path.

Disagreements continued into December's forecast, with officials voicing doubts about the necessity of a further cut that the markets had been eagerly awaiting, with "many" stating that no further cuts are required at least until the end of the year.

According to CME FedWatch, traders were pricing in a 31.6% chance of a 25-basis-point cut in December on Wednesday, down from a 63.8% probability in the previous week.

Meanwhile, a sell-off in the crypto market at the beginning of last month led to more than $19 billion in liquidations, reducing the value of the global cryptocurrency market, including Bitcoin, by more than $1 trillion.