Two Major Events Will Influence the Bitcoin Price in the Next 24 Hours
Lucas Cacioli Oct 19, 2020 09:00
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency traders face a moment of pause as they await two major events that will either send the BTC price soaring or cause a major bearish correction.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency traders face a moment of pause as they await two major events that will likely either send the BTC price soaring or cause a major bearish correction in the crypto markets.
The Bitcoin price is currently hovering around the $11,400 per Bitcoin and has moved in line with the mainstream equity markets over the last two months.
Despite the fanfare made regarding Square’s recent $50 million investment into Bitcoin and joining the list of public companies hedging with the crypto asset—the BTC price has remained mostly uninfluenced by what many have viewed as a catalyst for further mainstream investment.
However, in the next 24 hours—two events will occur that could give Bitcoin traders the buy or sell signal they are seeking. The first is that in the next few hours, Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell is set to speak on the digital currencies at the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) annual meeting.
The second event is the impending deadline on a pre-election round of stimulus—set by House Democrat Speak Nancy Pelosi for the Trump Administration to reach a deal with Democrats by Tuesday, Oct. 20.
Fed Chairman’s Influence on BTC Price
As reported by CNBC, on Feb. 12, Fed Chairman Powell’s address to Congress in which he appeared to acknowledge the power of digital currencies had a significant impact on the Bitcoin market, sending the BTC price surging above the $10,000 mark for the first time in 2020.
In his testimony in front of Congress on Tuesday, Powell was asked about central bank digital currencies and the Fed’s view on a digital dollar. The Fed Chairman acknowledged that Facebook’s Libra project served as a wake-up call that a digital currency could come “fairly quickly” and in a way that is “quite widespread and systemically important.”
Depending on what Powell says in today’s panel at the IMF on digital currencies, comments along the same lines as those in February are likely to send the BTC price higher. Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s panel will be webcast at 8 am ET on Monday, and is entitled “Cross-Border Payment—A Vision for the Future.”
Democrat Pelosi’s Pre-Election Stimulus Deadline
The second factor sure to move the Bitcoin price needle one way will be the outcome of the Democrats ultimatum to reach a consensus on a pre-election stimulus package with the White House by Oct.20.
As reported by Blockchain.News, Senate Democrat Nancy Pelosi has put a hard deadline on the stimulus negotiations between Democrats and Republicans as no agreement has yet been reached. House Democrats have proposed a $2.2 trillion relief package, and although President Donald Trump has said that he's prepared to go beyond his own party’s $1.8 trillion proposal—Senate Republicans remain in favor of a much more modest package and have been pegged as unlikely to support Trump in this compromise.
This outcome of Pelosi’s ultimatum should affect the Bitcoin price one way or the other—largely based on the bet by investors that the trillions in government and central bank money printing and relief spending globally in response to the COVID-19 market disruption will likely lead to very high inflation and US dollar debasement.
This inflation theory is currently being heavily supported by an onslaught of public companies and notable Bitcoin investors such as the Winklevoss Twins and Max Keiser.
For now, a further impasse between the Republicans and Democrats on reaching a stimulus amount agreement could see the Bitcoin price stall or even fall slightly. However, should the two sides reach an agreement by Tuesday, the price of BTC should also rise significantly.
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