Decentral Block Post

On Dec. 14, Bitcoin (BTC) broke above $18,000 for the first time in 34 days, marking a 16.5% gain from the $15,500 low on Nov. 21. The move followed a 3% gain in the S&P 500 futures in 3 days, which reclaimed the critical 4,000 points support. 

While BTC price started the day in favor of bulls, investors anxiously awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve Committee's decision on interest rates, along with Fed chair Jerome Powell's remarks. The subsequent 0.50% hike and Powell’s explanation of why the Fed would stay the course of its current policy gave investors good reason to doubt that BTC price will hold its current gains leading into the $370 million options expiry on Dec. 16.

Analysts and traders expect some form of softening in the macroeconomic tightening movement. For those unfamiliar, the Federal Reserve has previously increased its balance sheet from $4.16 trillion in February 2020 to a staggering $8.9 trillion in February 2022.

Since that peak, the monetary authority has been trying to unload debt instruments and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a process known as tapering. However, the previous five months resulted in less than $360 billion of assets decline.

Until there's a clearer guide on the economic policies of the world's largest economy, Bitcoin traders are likely to remain skeptical of a sustained price movement, regardless of the direction.

On Dec. 14, Bitcoin (BTC) price hit a 1-month high and saw a brief resurgence in bullish momentum, but the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) hawkish report and comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell sent BTC to an intraday low at $17,659. 

Stocks and Bitcoin started the day slightly up but quickly retracted on the FOMC report. To date, Bitcoin price remains closely correlated to equities and a majority of investors have concerns about the impact of further rate increases in the future.

Rising interest rates and hawkish talk from Powell impact BTC price

While the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report showed easing inflation at 7.1%, Powell still wants to reach 2% overall inflation. Inflation has been a determining factor in raising interest rates and the current 0.5% hike had consensus amongst FOMC participants. The Fed members also agree that rate hikes should continue in 2023.

During the Dec. 14 press conference, Powell stated:

“We may see higher rates for a longer period to achieve the 2% inflation goal”

On Dec. 14, Bitcoin (BTC) price hit a 1-month high and saw a brief resurgence in bullish momentum, but the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) hawkish report and comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell sent BTC to an intraday low at $17,659. 

Stocks and Bitcoin started the day slightly up but quickly retracted on the FOMC report. To date, Bitcoin price remains closely correlated to equities and a majority of investors have concerns about the impact of further rate increases in the future.

Rising interest rates and hawkish talk from Powell impact BTC price

While the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report showed easing inflation at 7.1%, Powell still wants to reach 2% overall inflation. Inflation has been a determining factor in raising interest rates and the current 0.5% hike had consensus amongst FOMC participants. The Fed members also agree that rate hikes should continue in 2023.

During the Dec. 14 press conference, Powell stated:

“We may see higher rates for a longer period to achieve the 2% inflation goal”

Bitcoin (BTC) set new one-month highs on the Dec. 14 Wall Street open on a day full of key events for the United States Federal Reserve.

Bitcoin bullish with stocks into FOMC

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD hitting $18,126 on Bitstamp, beating the $18,106 high from the day prior.

U.S. stocks edged higher as markets eagerly awaited feedback from the Fed after the November Consumer Price Index print showed inflation slowing beyond expectations.

Dec. 14 was set to see a decision on rate hikes for the month from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), together with a speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

The latter event tends to spark considerable volatility, with pundits closely scrutinizing Powell’s language for hints about longer-term economic policy.

NFT Steez, a new weekly Cointelegraph podcast exploring nonfungible tokens and Web3 projects, spoke to Comic-Con legend Gareb Shamus about how he has used storytelling to build engagement and a “maker world” that grows and strengthens communities.

What started off as a newsletter about comics — Shamus’ passion project — ultimately became known to the world as Wizard magazine. According to Shamus, Wizard was an outlet where he could “create a voice” and share with his friends the things he had discovered that excited him.

Shamus touched on the importance of building elements of engagement and not limiting creativity within communities to further “unite them around what they love.” More importantly, he explained how building engagement allowed him to reach billions of people around the world in a way that made it “fun to be a fan of culture.”

According to him, there’s a natural synergy between comics and NFTs.

“We need to promote storytelling”

When asked about the role storytelling will play in the Kumite NFT project, Shamus explained that Web3 allows for greater participation and engagement whereby multiple stories, from multiple points of view, can be told and expressed. Shamus described Kumite NFT as bringing the hero’s journey to holders, and in this way, “everyone can be a hero in their journey.”