Bitcoin Holds Steady Amid Fed Political Interference Concerns
On Good Friday, amid a wave of controversy surrounding the Federal Reserve’s independence, bitcoin continued to show stability, despite the psychological impact of former President Donald Trump’s high-profile remarks.
Traditional Markets Shake, Bitcoin Holds Steady
Speaking on Thursday morning, Trump publicly criticized Fed Chairman Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates and stated that he would fire him if he returned to the White House. The statement quickly sparked debate about the possibility of losing the independence that is considered the foundation of the US central bank. However, while traditional stock indexes were suspended for the holiday, bitcoin maintained a slight gain and did not see major fluctuations.
Bitcoin Maintains Strength in a Narrow Range
As of the end of the day on April 18, BTC was trading around $84,533, up 0.60% over the past 24 hours. The range of fluctuations was recorded from $83,749 to $85,449, reflecting the cautiousness of the market amid the holiday season. Over the past 7 days, bitcoin has grown by a total of 3.21%, consolidating its positive position compared to other assets.
Low liquidity, cautious market sentiment
Bitcoin's 24-hour trading volume decreased by nearly 29.26% to about $17.94 billion, mainly due to the disruption of traditional trading activities. However, BTC's market capitalization still inched up by 0.56% to $1.67 trillion, while its dominance fell to 63.86%.
BTC futures open interest also showed a slight increase of 1.34% to $54.88 billion, reflecting cautious participation from derivatives traders. Data from Coinglass recorded a very low liquidation volume of only $163,990 on the day, reflecting the calm in investor behavior.
The impact of Trump's statements - is Bitcoin really immune?
Although considered an asset that is not dependent on traditional monetary policies, bitcoin often reacts to information related to the Fed. Mr. Trump's continued inclusion of the Fed in the center of political battles raises concerns about the stability and independence of interest rate policies.
Doug Colkitt - founder of Ambient Finance, commented: "Such statements highlight an important fact: monetary policy is no longer a separate entity. When interest rate decisions are influenced by politics, the risk and uncertainty in the market will increase."
Will Bitcoin be an independent fortress or still be dragged along?
The question is whether bitcoin – designed by Satoshi Nakamoto to be independent of the traditional financial system – can retain its “original vision” as markets become increasingly sensitive to politics and interest rate cycles?
“This is a reminder that the crypto community needs to build a more independent and sustainable financial ecosystem – one where regulations and decisions are not influenced by election timing or short-term political changes,” Colkitt added.