Can Bitcoin beat the Fed? Bitcoin price increases despite bearish news
The Fed’s interest hike rate comments have had a devastating effect on the stock market, with many expecting the crypto market to follow suit.
- Many blue-chip stocks took a major beating over the past week, with some offerings dipping by as much as 20%.
- NY-based Flushing Bank — which currently has Assets Under Management (AUM) worth $8 billion — is now providing its clients with a range of BTC-related services.
- Bitcoin’s dominance index (DI) has continued to hover over 40% over the past fortnight.
Volatility continues to be the name of the game for the crypto market, with Bitcoin (BTC) continuing to face intense price swings. Over the last 24 hours, BTC’s value rose by over 4% after having dipped to a relative low of $35,500. At press time, the flagship cryptocurrency is trading at $37,618.
Furthermore, on January 27, Bitcoin rose as high as $39,000, suggesting a general trend reversal. However, derivatives data suggests that bears are still firmly in control of the crypto market, especially ahead of January’s upcoming $2.3 billion monthly options expiry. The recent sell-offs have been compounded by the fact that the US Federal Reserve recently announced that it is looking to raise its interest rates come March.
In the wake of this development, the crypto, as well as the stock market, experienced immediate repercussions. For example, many premier stocks0 — referred to as blue chips — such as Invesco China Technology ETF (CQQQ) dipped substantially, slipping by nearly 20% earlier this week, a sight not commonly witnessed within the stock sector.
US Congress member Patrick McHenry opined that one of the core reasons why the crypto market is facing such a tremendous amount of day-to-day turbulence is due to the fact that the government has failed to take any sort of concrete action in terms of creating a holistic regulatory environment for its thriving digital asset sector.
Major US bank now offering Bitcoin-centric services
Independent of how the market has been behaving over the last couple of months, crypto adoption seems to be rolling ahead as usual. Flushing Financial Corporation, the parent firm behind the $8 billion dollar worth NY-based Flushing Bank, revealing that it has joined hands with New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG). It aims to provide its clients with a wide range of Bitcoin-related services — including buying, selling and holding.
The bank is keen on expanding its suite of crypto-related offerings in the near- to mid-term, but its roadmap remains unclear. However, John Buran, CEO of Flushing Financial Corporation, noted that the firm’s decision to adopt BTC was largely driven by its desire to stay abreast with the rapidly evolving trends of the market. He added:
“As part of our ongoing digital transformation, we recognize the importance of staying current with emerging market trends and consumer demand for alternate financial services.”
Interested in cryptocurrency? Learn more about the basics with our beginner’s guide to Bitcoin, dive deeper by learning about Ethereum and see what blockchain can do with our simple guide to DeFi.
Disclosure: The author owns a range of cryptocurrencies at the time of writing.
