Bitcoin Price: US$ 29,026.16 (+1.24%)
Ethereum Price: US$ 1,905.12 (+1.87%)
The Federal Reserve has announced a 25 basis point increase in the fed funds rate, bringing the target range to 5%-5.25%. While widely expected, investors were watching for signals about the possibility of a pause in the rate hikes. The accompanying policy statement noted that tighter credit conditions are weighing on the economy, but did not include previous language indicating that continuing rate hikes were certain. The statement also acknowledged that inflation remains above the Fed’s 2% target, suggesting further tightening of monetary policy may be necessary. Meanwhile, the price of bitcoin remained steady after the announcement, and the crypto market is seen to have largely decoupled from traditional assets in the face of monetary policy.
Bitcoin rose more than 2% to $28,900 following a Bloomberg report that PacWest Bancorp is considering various strategic options, leading to a more than 50% fall in the bank’s shares during after-hours trading. This comes after the recent takeover of First Republic Bank by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and subsequent sale to JPMorgan, with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon stating that the banking crisis is over. In a different news, Litecoin’s creator Charlie Lee believes that Litecoin could see significant gains versus Bitcoin, with LTC/BTC potentially rallying to 0.025 BTC (over 700%) in the next bull cycle, thanks to the upcoming halving event in August 2023 that will reduce the block reward to miners by 50%.
Sui’s mainnet went live on May 3, with major cryptocurrency exchanges launching trading of the Sui (SUI) token soon after. Exchanges including Binance, Huobi, KuCoin, ByBit, OKX, and Poloniex have all announced SUI listings, with Binance allowing users to trade between SUI and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Tether, and BNB. In other news, the White House released a report justifying its proposed 30% excise tax on cryptocurrency mining firms, citing the lack of “economic benefits” and the harm they impose on society. The tax, which would impact miners starting in 2024 and be based on their associated electricity costs, could reduce the government’s deficit by up to $444 million by the fiscal year 2033, according to the White House’s 2024 budget.
Source:
https://coindesk.com
https://cointelegraph.com
https://theblock.co
https://decrypt.co
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