Bitcoin and other altcoins like Avalanche, Dogecoin, and IOTA dropped on Thursday, erasing some of the gains made after the Fed decision.
Bitcoin (BTC) dropped to $84,000 from this week’s high of $87,500. Ethereum (ETH) fell to $1,965, while Dogecoin (DOGE), IOTA (IOTA), and JasmyCoin (JASMY) fell by over 4%. The total market cap of all cryptocurrencies dropped by 1.5% to $2.74 trillion.
Bitcoin and other altcoins failed to move higher after Donald Trump declared that crypto would expand the dominance of the US dollar. He made the statement in a pre-recorded video for Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit, a crypto conference in New York City, as he continued to amplify his pro-crypto sentiment.
These coins dropped because Trump did not mention any concrete policy changes his administration would introduce. Before the statement, there were hopes that he would propose making crypto trading tax-free in the United States.
The Trump administration has already taken significant steps for the crypto industry. He has proposed creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve made up of seized coins. He also signed an executive order creating a crypto stockpile consisting of several made-in-USA coins like Cardano (ADA) and Ripple (XRP).
Most importantly, the Securities and Exchange Commission has ended its legal battles against the crypto industry. On Wednesday, the agency ended its lawsuit against against Ripple Labs that had been ongoing for years. It has also ended other suits against companies like Kraken and Coinbase.
Bitcoin and altcoins dropped as the market reflected on Wednesday’s Federal Reserve decision. After initially rising, stocks and crypto prices pulled back as concerns about when the bank will cut interest rates remained. The Nasdaq 100 and & S&P 500 indices dropped by about 0.25% each.
Another likely reason for the drop is that the market is watching the upcoming triple witching event, when options contracts worth over $4.5 trillion will expire. This quarterly event often triggers volatility in the stock and crypto markets.
