Here’s how the crypto market reacted to the Fed’s 0.25% cut

After the Fed cut the interest rate by 0.25%, the crypto market’s liquidation of more than $239 million in mere minutes. Bitcoin dipped briefly below $100k with other major tokens following suit.

On Dec. 19, the Federal Reserve reduced its key interest rate by 25 basis points and warned of cuts in the following years. The Fed hinted that it would probably lower only twice more in the new year ahead.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell explained that since the U.S. government’s stance has become less restrictive, then the agency can afford “be more cautious as we consider further adjustments to our policy rate.”

“We think the economy is in [a] really good place. We think policy is in a really good place,” he said.

Following the Fed rate cut, the crypto market saw its total long liquidation surge by $200 million from a mere $39.73 million to a staggering $239.2 million just 30 minutes after the news broke, based on Coinglass data. In the past 24 hours, there have been a total of $853 million crypto asset liquidations, with Ethereum (ETH) leading the charge at $134.9 million.

According to data from crypto.news, Bitcoin (BTC) went under the $100,000 threshold as it dropped by 5%, but it recovered slightly not long after. Bitcoin is currently trading hands at $101,705, the price having gone down by 2.35% in the past 24 hours of trading.

Other major cryptocurrencies including Ethereum, Solana (SOL), and XRP (XRP) followed Bitcoin’s descent. Additionally, a number of altcoin like DOGE (DOGE) and PEPE (PEPE) also struggled after the Fed cut.

Ethereum dipped by 0.68% after the Fed rate cut. In the past 24 hours, Ethereum has gone down by 4.5% and maintains its price at $3,674. Meanwhile, XRP saw its price dip by nearly 3%. In the past 24 hours of trading, XRP has plummeted nearly 7% and sits at $2.36.

Solana was not immune to the effects of the Fed cut either. The meme coin favorite saw its price go down by 1.15% and continued its downward trend to 3.58% in the past 24 hours of trading. The token is currently trading hands at $208.98.

The altcoins market suffered as well, with the total market cap of meme coins falling by nearly 8% to $105.2 billion according to CoinMarketCap. The number one meme coin by market cap, Dogecoin, fell by more than 7% shortly after the Fed cut and has not recovered since. DOGE is currently trading hands at $0.36.

Meanwhile, PEPE dipped by nearly 4% shortly after the Fed cut and has gone down by more than 11% in the past 24 hours, according to data from crypto.news.

The Fed’s cautious approach toward future rate cuts suggests a continued focus on controlling inflation, which could lead to a strengthening of the dollar. This could indicate a potential decrease in the public’s investment in alternative assets like cryptocurrencies.