Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell took a bite out of Bitcoin's historic rise in price.
In a press conference on Wednesday, he said the central bank is not currently looking to build a Bitcoin reserve and predicted just two rate cuts for 2025.
“We're not allowed to own Bitcoin. The Federal Reserve Act says what we can own, and we're not asking for a change in the law,” Powell said. “That's something Congress should consider, but we're not asking for a law change at the Fed.”
Bitcoin prices fell more than 5% after the press conference. As of this morning, the value stands at around $95,000. On Tuesday, it reached $108,000.
Related: An international perspective on Bitcoin's rise in value
Bitcoin holdings were introduced by President-elect Donald Trump as a way to stay ahead of the competition. for USA Today.
Ahead of the 2024 election, Trump spoke at a Bitcoin convention and said he aims to make the United States “the crypto capital of the planet and the bitcoin superpower of the world.” The Trump family launched a new cryptocurrency business in September and, this month, he named former PayPal executive David Sacks as “White House Artificial Intelligence and Crypto Czar.”
The announcement from Powell didn't just affect Bitcoin. Coindesk reports that Ethereum ether (ETH) fell 10.8% and Dogecoin's DOGE had a 15%-20% loss. “Over the past 24 hours — roughly since yesterday's rate decision by Fed policymakers — roughly $1.2 billion worth of crypto derivatives trading positions have been liquidated across all assets,” it writes Christian Sandor.