Bitcoin Tops $43,500 as Investors expects Another Fed Rate Pause this Week

TL;DR

• Bitcoin is trading above the $43k level once again following last week’s poor performance.

• The rally comes as investors predict another Fed rate pause later this week.

BTC Up by 3%, Trades Above $43k

The cryptocurrency market is finally in the green again, after underperforming over the last two weeks. Bitcoin, the world’s leading cryptocurrency by market cap, is up by 3% in the last 24 hours. At press time, Bitcoin is trading at $43,553 per coin.

The positive performance comes as the markets considered the possibility of another rate pause at this week's Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Data obtained from the CME FedWatch tool shows that there is a 97.9% chance that the Fed funds rate will remain at its current target range of 5.25%–5.50%.

Analysts believe that the possibility of the Fed pausing its funds rate has already been factored in by the market. However, should the Federal Reserve cut interest rates, Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market could experience a bullish momentum.

The Bitcoin halving is less than three months away and market experts are already predicting the effects of the event.  Skybridge Capital founder and managing partner Anthony Scaramucci said he believes Bitcoin could soar to at least $170,000 after the halving in April. He said,

“Go back and look at Bitcoin halving cycles. The day that Bitcoin halves, multiply it by four [and] 18 months later and it’s been uncanny that that’s been the price of Bitcoin. I’m using a $35,000 number at the halving and that’s conservative … Let’s say we’re at $50,000 in April, then it’s a $200,000 handle. Let’s say we’re at $60,000, it will be $240,000.”

Thanks to BTC’s rally, the total cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $1.67 trillion, up by 2.35% in the last 24 hours.