Altcoins added to their rally during late Tuesday U.S. afternoon hours after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested the Federal Reserve should consider a 50 basis point rate cut at its upcoming September meeting.
“The real thing now to think about is should we get a 50 basis-point rate cut in September,” Bessent told Fox News. Bessent added that the Fed could have cut rates in June if it had been given accurate data, which he described as a “foundational issue” at the central bank.
Markets had already about fully priced in a 25 basis point move in September, but the idea of 50 basis points appeared to juice things further.
To be sure, Bessent is Treasury Secretary and not a member of the Federal Reserve, let alone its chairman. Bessent, however, has been tasked by President Trump with selecting a replacement for Fed Chair Powell, so his words surely carry some weight.
Already higher on the day, ether jumped further, now higher by nearly 9% over the past 24 hours and above $4,600 for the first time since November 2021.
Other moves include cardano (ADA), solana (SOL) and litecoin (LTC), each ahead about 8% over the past 24 hours, while XRP (XRP) is up 3.5%.
Bitcoin (BTC) bulls stayed on the sidelines during today’s rally, which also lifted equity markets by more than 1%. The cryptocurrency is trading at $120,000, little changed over the past 24 hours. The dollar weakened against all major currencies.
The rally got started early on Tuesday morning after new data showed consumer prices rising roughly in line with estimates in July.