The price fell after the Federal Reserve made its first interest rate cut since the Covid pandemic, cutting rates by half a percentage point, or 50 basis points.
The US central bank has lowered the federal funds rate to a range of 4.75% to 5%. The aggressive cut reflects deepening concerns about the US economy and is causing volatility in many markets, including cryptocurrencies.
At 16:40 ET (20:40 GMT), bitcoin was flat at $60,189.00. Bitcoin was down 1.1% at $2,138.87, while its price was down about 1.9%.
Cryptocurrency-related stocks gave up earlier gains. While MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:) shares were up 1.5% on the day, most bitcoin miners, including Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:) and Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:) and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Database Inc (NASDAQ:) ended the session unchanged or slightly lower.
The rate cut was announced after a two-day Fed meeting and follows a year of aggressive tightening to combat inflation. Ten of 19 Fed officials have backed at least another half-percentage-point rate cut at the final two meetings of 2024.
Historically, interest rate cuts have weakened the US dollar and benefited risk assets like stocks.
Bitcoin has struggled to maintain the gains it made earlier this year. After peaking at $65,000 in August, it has traded around $60,000 in recent days.
