Bitcoin Hits $117k as Fed Cuts Interest Rates By 25 Basis Points

TL;DR

• BTC rallied to the $117,900 region on Wednesday after adding more than 1% to its value.

• The rally comes after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points, with analysts expecting further gains.

BTC Tops $117k on Fed Rate Cut

Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency by market cap, performed excellently over the past 24 hours. The coin added more than 1% to its value during that period to hit the $117,900 mark on Wednesday.

BTC has now slightly retraced and is trading above $117,400 per coin. The positive performance comes after the United States Federal Reserve announced its interest rate decision on Wednesday.

The U.S. apex bank lowered its benchmark rate range by 25 basis points to 4%-4.25%, citing softening labor markets and economic uncertainty. The new rate is the lowest since December 2024. 

According to the Fed Chair Jerome Powell, the economic growth in the first half of the year moderated, and the job market has slowed. Powell attributed the slowdown to changes in immigration. However, there was no widespread support for a larger cut, Powell added, stating that the apex bank was right to lower rates and not rush to cut more aggressively. President Trump has attacked Powell on various occasions, stating that the Fed should have cut rates long ago.

The rate cut comes after the U.S. labor market showed increased signs that it has begun to decisively weaken. The August NFP showed the addition of just 22,000 jobs to the economy, with the unemployment rate rising to 4.3%, the highest since 2021.

Altcoins Rally Higher

With Bitcoin hitting the $117k mark, altcoins have rallied higher in the last 24 hours. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is trading above $4,600 after adding 2.7% to its value.

XRP is approaching the $3.2 value, while Binance’s BNB raced to a new all-time high of $995. Thanks to the ongoing rally, the total cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $4.11 trillion.