What you’re seeing on the charts today is the market being cautious before Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech, which is happening tomorrow at 10 AM ET.

Why the fuss? Investors will be listening to see if he hints at cutting interest rates when the Fed meets on September 17.

(And a rate cut = usually good for crypto.)

Powell's Jackson Hole speeches have a track record of showing where Fed policy is heading:

👉 In 2022, he said that fighting inflation was the top priority → the Fed followed through with aggressive rate hikes;

👉 In 2023, he said restrictive policy was still needed but admitted progress had been made → the Fed kept rates high for longer;

👉 In 2024, he hinted it was time to ease up → the Fed delivered a 50 bps cut that September.

Now, when J Pow last spoke in July, he was still hawkish - he argued that the labor market was solid and inflation was too high.

But things have gotten tougher since then: jobs data now looks weaker, but tariffs are keeping inflation sticky. Sooo:

👉 If they cut rates too soon, inflation could reignite;

👉 But if they wait too long, the economy could slow down further.

Despite this tricky combo, markets are leaning heavily toward cuts:

Crypto Market Cap: $3.85T 0.01% (24H)

Name Price 24H 7D

Bitcoin BTC $112,202.84 -0.64% -5.48%

Ethereum ETH $4,235.35 1.08% -9.16%

XRP $2.86 -0.47% -8.35%

BNB $840.53 2.02% -1.20%

Solana SOL $183.13 1.42% -6.89%