Bitcoin Price on Verge of $20,000 amid Fed’s Interest Rates Announcement

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Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies plunged back last week on Friday, wiping almost $200 billion from the combined market after a serious collapse warning.

Bitcoin price dropped sharply toward $20,000 per coin, more than 10% down over the last week, with Ethereum and other top ten cryptocurrencies also recording double-digit declines.

The crypto market is now on the verge of crashing under $1 trillion as traders are bracing for a highly-anticipated speech by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell this week on Friday.

Powell will hold a speech on coming Friday, August 26 at 10 am ET, and is expected to talk about the economic outlook.

Last week, Feds officials gave some conflicting views over the central bank's path forward on rates and inflation.

Jim Bullard, the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, anticipated another 75-basis point rate increase at the Fed's September meeting. Meanwhile, Esther George, the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, projected a low-interest rate hike.

Last Thursday, George said policymakers should be mindful of how earlier decisions impact the economy.

Market observers are paying close attention to comments made by Fed decision-makers as they fear that the U.S. central bank could trigger a recession if it goes too hard and fast in its war against inflation.

Late last year, the Federal Reserve embarked on a program of interest rate hikes and stimulus cuts as part of efforts to drive down surging inflation that has rocketed to a 40-year high.

The monetary policy tightening has crashed stock markets and wiped around $2 trillion from the hot crypto market that had soared to a peak of $3 trillion last year.

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