"Hawkish Fed and Geopolitical Risks... Increased Downward Pressure on Bitcoin"

There have been claims that the Fed's decision to hold interest rates steady and the Israel-Iran war could put downward pressure on Bitcoin (BTC).

On the 18th (local time), Valentin Fournier, chief analyst at BRN, stated in an interview with The Block that "hawkish rate outlooks and rising geopolitical risks have negatively impacted Bitcoin's short-term momentum," adding, "If geopolitical risks worsen, Bitcoin could face even more intense downward pressure." He further noted, "The influx into Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is also declining due to macroeconomic uncertainty."

Fournier also forecast increased market volatility. He said, "Due to macroeconomic risks, Bitcoin's volatility is likely to rise further going forward," and added, "Given that Bitcoin's current price is near its previous all-time high, investors are likely to move towards reducing risk."

He also stressed that the Fed's policy direction will have an extremely important impact. "The market is closely monitoring the Fed's remarks regarding its interest rate policy," he explained. "This could be a very significant factor determining Bitcoin's trajectory."

Meanwhile, the market expects that the Fed will again leave the benchmark interest rate unchanged this time. Projections for the number of rate cuts this year have also decreased from 3-4 early in the year to 1-2 now.

The Fed is scheduled to announce its benchmark interest rate at 3 a.m. (KST) on the 19th.