• The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate by 25bps.
• Bitcoin’s price has stayed relatively flat at $28,500 upon announcement.
• The Fed sees 5.1% on the median dot plot for the end of 2023 and 4.3% for the end of 2024 and expects one more rate hike.
FOMC Verdict: Rates Raised by 25bps
The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate by 25 basis points, taking it to 4.75 – 5%. This decision was largely expected and did not have a significant impact on Bitcoin’s price which remained relatively flat at $28,500.
Fed Dot Plot
The FOMC released its latest “dot plot” which shows expectations for interest rates over time. The median dot plot for the end of 2023 is 5.1%, with 4.3% expected for the end of 2024, indicating that there may be one more rate hike before then.
Latest Fed Statements
The Fed is dropping „ongoing rate hikes“ from statements and says that „US banking system is sound and resilient.“ All eyes are now on Powell who will be discussing new economic projections at 6:30 PM GMT today (March 22nd).
Market Reaction
The market reaction to the news was relatively muted with Bitcoin staying flat at $28,500 following the announcement, indicating that investors are increasingly immune to traditional economic events such as these due to their independence from fiat currencies like US Dollars or Euros.
Conclusion
Overall, this FOMC meeting saw no surprises with a widely expected 25bp raise in rates but all eyes remain focused on Jerome Powell who will be giving his assessment of current economic projections later today (March 22nd).