Market
Can the Fed Rescue Crypto Markets With Interest Rate Cuts?
The Federal Reserve is having a closed-door meeting today to discuss potentially cutting interest rates. This would help crypto in a few ways, spurring risky investments and possibly even weakening the dollar.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell has been hesitant to cut rates, but he is under a lot of pressure. BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink is currently pessimistic about rate cuts, claiming that they may even increase this year.
Will the Fed Consider Rate Cuts?
Trump’s tariff threats have the entire market in freefall, as billions have been liquidated from crypto and TradFi alike. The rumor of a 90-day pause on tariffs caused a dramatic rally earlier today.
Soon after, the White House denied the rumors, resulting in a crash. However, the Federal Reserve is having a closed-door meeting today, and it may plan to cut interest rates:
“A closed meeting of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System at will be held 11:30 am on Monday, April 7, 2025. The following matters of official Board business are tentatively scheduled to be considered at that meeting: review and determination by the Board of Governors of the advance and discount rates to be charged by the Federal Reserve Banks,” the Fed’s website read.
There are many reasons why the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates. High rates make fixed-income investments more attractive, drawing capital away from riskier assets like stocks and cryptocurrencies, while low rates make these assets more attractive.
Rate cuts have often corresponded with market rallies, especially with ZIRP after the 2008 crash.
Now that most of the market is predicting a recession, the Federal Reserve could cause a rally with these rate cuts. The crypto market recently hoped for rate cuts, which the FOMC quickly rejected.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell initially signaled that he was reluctant to cut rates at this moment, but pressure has been building for him to do so. Unfortunately, that may not matter yet.
Larry Fink, BlackRock’s pro-crypto CEO, has been very pessimistic about possible cuts. In a recent televised interview, he claimed that most CEOs believe the US is already in a recession and that the country is currently not a “global stabilizer” in the markets.
Under these conditions, he stated that there’s a 0% chance of 4 to 5 rate cuts and that rates may even increase.
Are Interest Rate Cuts Always Bullish for Crypto?
When the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates, it isn’t a bullish signal across the board. They also tend to weaken the US dollar as its yield advantage diminishes relative to other currencies.
This would also be good for crypto, considering its use as a store of value, but the Fed isn’t particularly interested in that. The industry won’t be the deciding factor either way.
Still, other commentators have been highly skeptical of Fink’s claim. Powell is under a lot of pressure to cut rates, so raising them would buck market expectations. Investors are betting on multiple rate cuts, and these hypothetical cuts may be priced to a certain extent.
Looking back at previous cycles, periods of rate cuts have often coincided with market rallies. For instance, during the post-2008 recovery, rate cuts revived equity and emerging asset classes.
Overall, lower rates typically mean easier access to credit, leading to more liquidity in the market. This extra liquidity can help drive up demand for riskier assets, including cryptocurrencies.
So, If the FOMC signals a shift toward lower interest rates, this could boost overall market confidence. As traditional markets begin to stabilize and recover, crypto markets might experience a rebound.
Investor sentiment, already shaken by the recent sell-offs and heightened volatility, could turn more optimistic with the prospect of easing monetary conditions.
Most importantly, institutional investors, who have been cautious during the current volatile period, may adjust their strategies in a lower-rate environment.
With lower fixed-income yields, portfolio managers could increase their allocation to alternative assets, including cryptocurrencies, to achieve higher returns. This influx of institutional capital could lend credibility to the crypto market and help drive a recovery.
Disclaimer
In adherence to the Trust Project guidelines, BeInCrypto is committed to unbiased, transparent reporting. This news article aims to provide accurate, timely information. However, readers are advised to verify facts independently and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content. Please note that our Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, and Disclaimers have been updated.
Coinbase’s Layer 2 network, Base, is facing intense scrutiny after what appears to be a major pump and dump—one that it inadvertently helped fuel. The project’s official Twitter account publicly promoted a meme coin titled “Base is for everyone.”
This triggered a speculative surge, driving the token’s market cap to an estimated $15 to $20 million within hours of launch. The token quickly plummeted near zero in mutes.
Did Base Just Help Fuel a Pump and Dump?
Base’s tweet, which featured promotional imagery and direct links to the meme coin on Zora, created the perception of legitimacy.
Traders piled in, and price charts reflected an explosive rally—followed by an equally sharp collapse.
Within one 4-hour trading window, a green candle representing millions in inflow was immediately reversed by a red candle of equal size, marking a total loss of liquidity and confirming a textbook pump and dump.
The token’s value fell by more than 99%, and trading volumes on Uniswap surged past $13 million during the brief window of activity.
There is massive ongoing outrage against both Coinbase and Base. Crypto influencers have called the incident a failure of due diligence and communications strategy.
Accusations of incompetence and poor risk oversight are spreading fast on social media, while memes mocking the network’s “Base is for everyone” slogan are everywhere.
Base is yet to provide an official response to the incident.
Disclaimer
In adherence to the Trust Project guidelines, BeInCrypto is committed to unbiased, transparent reporting. This news article aims to provide accurate, timely information. However, readers are advised to verify facts independently and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content. Please note that our Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, and Disclaimers have been updated.
XRP is back trading above, $2, and bullish momentum is gradually creeping back compared to its price action at the end of March and beginning of April. Crypto analyst EGRAG CRYPTO believes this week could highlight a turning point for a full flip into bullish momentum, and how the XRP price closes out the week will be very important.
According to the analyst’s outlook, which was posted on social media platform X, the current XRP candle on the weekly timeframe is hovering just above both $2.10 and the 21-week Exponential Moving Average (EMA). However, he noted that the real confirmation lies with if XRP can manage to close the week with a full-bodied candle above $2.25.
Why Is $2.25 Important For XRP’s Price?
The $2.25 level has now become more than just another short-term resistance. It is what EGRAG considers the final barrier to validating the recovery structure forming after March and April’s sharp retracement. His weekly chart shows XRP climbing out from a significant low after bouncing off the 0.888 Fib extension level and now stabilizing above the yellow 21-week EMA line.
The alignment of XRP’s price above both the $2.10 price level and this moving average adds credibility to the potential of a bullish continuation, but EGRAG makes it clear that a weekly close above $2.25 is the “lock-in” point. From a technical standpoint, this would mark the first full-bodied weekly candle above the 21W EMA since the past four weeks. If achieved, this can be interpreted confirmation that bulls have regained dominance and that a bottom was established on April 7.
Furthermore, it suggests that the April 7 bottom will continue to hold as support going forward. The chart also outlines close price targets at $2.51 and $2.60, with Fibonacci extension levels projecting even higher zones at $2.69 on the way to crossing back above $3.
Failing To Close Above $2.25 Could Reintroduce Unwanted Narratives
EGRAG also issued a cautionary note in case there isn’t a clean breakout. Should XRP fail to close the weekly candle above $2.25, he warned it could trigger a return of bearish narratives, including what he referred to as a possible “tariff issue.” This is referring to the recent tariff back-and-forth between the US and China in the past month, which has unbalanced the investment markets.
A strong rejection could see the XRP price pull back toward the $1.96 Fibonacci level or even lower into the broader support band of around $1.58 to $1.30. The white box region on the chart above would then become the primary battleground for bulls and bears if a close above $2.25 is not secured by the end of the week.
Mayer Mizrachi, the mayor of Panama City, Panama, announced today that the city government will accept payments in crypto. It will accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, and two stablecoins for taxes, permits, fees, etc.
However, Mizrachi clarified that the municipal government has a legal requirement to accept these funds only in USD. It will exchange cryptoassets for cash with a partnered bank, presenting a severe limit to potential crypto adoption.
Is Panama City Accepting Crypto?
In the last few months, a tide of pro-crypto regulation has swept over many of the world’s jurisdictions. This obviously includes the United States at the federal and state levels, but many other countries are rising to the occasion.
Case in point, the mayor of Panama’s capital city just announced that the municipal government will accept payments in crypto.
“Panama City council has just voted in favor of becoming the first public institution of government to accept payments in crypto. Citizens will now be able to pay taxes, fees, tickets and permits entirely in crypto starting with BTC, ETH, USDC, USDT,” claimed Mayer Mizrachi, the mayor of Panama City.
Mizrachi went on to explain some previous efforts to accept crypto payments in Panama. Four years ago, a legislative initiative tried to enable crypto payments all over the country.
It got some traction but eventually stalled out in 2022. In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled the bill “unenforceable.” Since then, it doesn’t seem like any other serious efforts have made progress.
Panama City’s municipal government is circumventing the legislature to accept crypto payments, but the strategy has significant drawbacks. Mizrachi explained that public institutions must receive funds in US dollars, and he couldn’t circumvent this requirement.
In other words, any crypto payments will actually go to a partnered bank. The bank will actually custody (or dispose of) these assets, while the city only holds USD. Mizrachi’s effort avoids a contentious legislative battle, but its actual impact might be severely limited.
Although Panama has its own currency, the balboa, the US dollar has more legal standing in a few different ways. It’s a legal tender; public institutions have to accept it, and the balboa is actually pegged to the dollar anyway.
This is a very similar situation to what made El Salvador accept Bitcoin as a currency, as it also had to use the US dollar as its sole currency.
Mizrachi explained that this short workaround will increase “the free flow of crypto” through Panama’s economy, but it may not be that simple. Depending on the agreement between the city government and partnered banks, it could just dump its cryptoassets on the international market.
If Panama wants to actually adopt cryptocurrency, it may need more sustainable measures integrated to the local economy.
Disclaimer
In adherence to the Trust Project guidelines, BeInCrypto is committed to unbiased, transparent reporting. This news article aims to provide accurate, timely information. However, readers are advised to verify facts independently and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content. Please note that our Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, and Disclaimers have been updated.
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