Hawkish FOMC Minutes Knocks Legs Out of Crypto Bounce

Hawkish remarks from the Federal Open Market Committee’s late July meeting have — for the moment — put the kibosh on the crypto market’s modest attempt at a rally on Wednesday.

“A majority of participants judged the upside risk to inflation as the greater of these two risks,” read the Fed minutes regarding the committee’s discussion of prices versus employment. “Regarding upside risks to inflation, participants pointed to the uncertain effects of tariffs and the possibility of inflation expectations becoming unanchored.”

Crypto prices gave up some of their daily gains just following the release of the minutes, with bitcoin (BTC) slipping from a 0.7% advance to just barely green over the last 24 hours at $113,300.

Having one of the best sessions of the majors, ether (ETH) slipped from about a 4.5% gain to just a 2.3% advance at $4,270.

This particular Fed meeting, though, took place just prior to the release of the August 1 employment report, which showed not just a slow July job gain, but also contained a massive downward revision of 258,000 jobs in previously released June May data.

Had these numbers been in front of the Fed at its July meeting, it’s entirely possible the tone of the participants would have been far different and the result of the meeting might even have been a rate cut.

Jackson Hole still ahead

Nevertheless, this week’s main event remains Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s keynote speech at the Kansas City Fed’s Economic Symposium in Jackson Hole.

Fed chiefs over the past decade-plus have on occasion used the Jackson Hole forum to signal impending policy changes. Market participants will be watching closely to see if the doggedly hawkish Powell shows any signs of changing that stance and perhaps signaling a rate cut at the central bank’s next meeting in September.

The current betting says Powell will take a wait and see approach, noting that between Friday and that September meeting will be a lot more economic data, including fresh employment and inflation reports for the month of August.