Bitcoin Halts at $41K as Traders Eye Fed Rate Decision; AVAX Flips Dogecoin as Altcoins Jump

Bitcoin’s

(BTC)
price
stabilized
around
$41,000
Tuesday
ahead
of
this
year’s
last
U.S.
interest
rate
decision
due
Wednesday
as
crypto
traders
digested
yesterday’s
major
leverage
flush
and
largest
daily
drawdown
since
mid-August.

The
largest
crypto
asset
recovered
to
$42,000
earlier
in
the
day
from
yesterday’s
low
of
$40,200
before
dipping
to
$40,600
in
the
U.S.
afternoon
hours.
After
paring
some
losses,
BTC
was
changing
hands
at
$41,300,
slightly
up
0.3%
over
the
past
24
hours.

Ether

(ETH),
the
second
largest
cryptocurrency,
declined
1%
during
the
same
period,
below
$2,200.

While
the
momentum
of
the
two
leading
cryptocurrencies
slowed,
many
altcoins
jumped
through
the
day.

Native
tokens
of
Polkadot

(DOT),
Cosmos

(ATOM)
and
Injective

(INJ)
were
among
the
best-performing
crypto
majors,
gaining
10%-20%
over
the
past
24
hours.

Avalanche

(AVAX)
overtook
the
popular
dog-themed
meme
token
dogecoin’s

(DOGE)
market
capitalization,
gaining
nearly
5%
on
the
day
and
more
than
doubling
its
price
in
a
month.

Recently
launched
blockchain
data
solution
Celestia
TIA

surged
20%
to
a
new
all-time
high
as
it

announced
that
it
will
become
an
option
for
blockchain
builders
using
Polygon’s
software
tools
to
spin
up
new
layer-2
networks
atop
Ethereum.

Venture
capital-backed
blockchain
Aptos’
token

(APT)
also
rallied
16%,
defying
the
release
of
over
$200
million
worth
of
previously
locked-up
tokens
to
its
outstanding
supply
earlier
today,
according
to

Token.Unlocks.

The
CoinDesk
Market
Index

(CMI),
which
tracks
a
weighted
basket
of
almost
200
digital
assets,
was
up
1.2%
over
the
past
24
hours.

The
Federal
Reserve,
the
central
bank
of
the
U.S.,
is

widely
expected
to
hold
Fed
fund
rates
steady
at
5.25%-5.5%,
concluding
the
Federal
Open
Market
Committee
(FOMC)
meeting
Wednesday
as
Consumer
Price
Index
(CPI)
inflation
continued
to

edge
lower
in
November.

“Disinflation
is
in
full
force
and
the
latest
round
of
CPI
data
for
November
2023
is
further
proof
that
the
trend
is
intact,”
Caleb
Franzen,
founder
of
Cubic
Analytics

posted
on
X.

Slowing
inflation
nudges
the
Fed
to
pause
rate
hikes
Wednesday
for
the
third
consecutive
occasion.
At
the
same
time,
investors
will
monitor
Fed
Chair
Jerome
Powell’s
press
conference
for
signs
of
potential
rate
cuts
next
year.

“It
is
commonly
expected
that
a
pause
in
rate
hikes
could
be
interpreted
as
a
bullish
signal
for
the
market,”
Bitfinex
analysts
said
in
an
emailed
note.
“Cryptocurrencies
have
previously
experienced
positive
market
movements
following
decisions
by
the
Fed
to
keep
interest
rates
steady.”