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Bitcoin faces hawkish Fed-minutes risk ahead of Wednesday release
The July minutes, due Aug. 19 at 2 p.m. ET, could show whether rate pressure spread beyond the three dissenters, with traders watching Treasury yields for a higher-for-longer repricing.
Bitcoin is heading into the Federal Reserve’s July meeting minutes release, scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 2 p.m. Eastern, with a key question for crypto markets: whether pressure for higher rates stayed limited to the three officials who dissented or extended to a broader share of participants.
The Fed held its target range at 3.5% to 3.75% on July 29 by a 9-3 vote, with Beth Hammack, Neel Kashkari, and Lorie Logan seeking a quarter-point increase. CryptoSlate notes the minutes could clarify whether debate in the July 28 to 29 discussions reflected more widespread hawkish views, not just the dissenters, and it also highlights that evidence of “several” participants would not, by itself, prove the hold majority included additional near-term rate supporters.
CryptoSlate says the minutes could be viewed as a sharper negative catalyst for Bitcoin if they show language in the policy-action discussion suggesting some members in the hold camp considered waiting tactical rather than a settled preference, and it emphasizes that the committee includes more participants in discussions than those who vote. The article adds that a stronger signal for Bitcoin would likely be a rise in Treasury yields as traders price a higher-for-longer path, with the Aug. 18 curve placing the two-year yield at 4.19% and the 10-year at 4.71%.
On Tuesday evening, Bitcoin traded near $64,400 on Coinbase at 9:51 p.m. ET, while an OKX snapshot showed positive BTC perpetual funding and roughly 32,900 BTC of open interest, both single-venue measures. The Aug. 18 spot Bitcoin ETF flow line was provisionally at $45.7 million, with no value attributed to IBIT at the time cited by CryptoSlate.
Latest closeBitcoin $64,995.71 ▲0.5%