Investing.com-- Bitcoin’s price rose marginally on Wednesday after strong cheer over global monetary easing lost some of the momentum.
Meanwhile, a barrage of stimulus measures from China aided overall sentiment, while markets positioned for interest rate cuts by Swiss and Swedish central banks this week, following the Federal Reserve’s first rate cut since 2020.
Bitcoin rose 0.1% to $63,713.0 by 09:40 ET (13:40 GMT).
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The world’s biggest cryptocurrency marked a strong recovery over the past two weeks, as risk appetite was aided chiefly by a bumper interest rate cut by the Fed.
The Fed also announced the start of an easing cycle that is expected to see rates fall by at least 125 basis points by end-2024, according to Citi analysts. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) expects the Fed to cut rates by 25 bps at each meeting between November and June 2025.
Coindesk reported that Bitcoin needed to break sustainably above an August high of $65,000 to set up further gains, although the currency has struggled to maintain any levels above $65,000 since hitting a record high in March.
Still, lower interest rates are expected to spur more flows into risk-driven, speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies in the coming months.
But Bitcoin has largely lagged a rally in stock markets, as Wall Street hit record highs following the Fed’s decision.
Sentiment towards crypto still remained relatively subdued, especially as retail interest waned this year. An uncertain regulatory outlook, in the face of a tight U.S. presidential race, also limited flows into crypto.
Crypto price today: altcoins mixed
Broader cryptocurrency prices saw mixed performance on Wednesday.
World no.2 crypto Ether fell 1% to $2,607.78.
SOL and ADA led gains among altcoins, rising 1.6% and 2.5%, respectively. XRP slipped 0.1%, while MATIC added 1.5%
Among meme tokens, DOGE slid 0.3%.
The focus was on more upcoming cues on global interest rates in the coming days.
Sweden’s Riskbank is widely expected to cut rates later on Wednesday, while the Swiss National Bank is expected to trim rates on Thursday.
In the U.S., Fed Chair Jerome Powell is set to talk on Thursday, while PCE price index data- the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge- is due on Friday.
Market volatility may surge as $5.8B in crypto options contracts set to expire
Bitcoin and the broader crypto market may see heightened activity in the next two days as options contracts worth several billion dollars are set to expire on Friday at 08:00 UTC, according to crypto options and futures exchange Deribit.
90,000 BTC options contracts, valued at $5.8 billion, were due for settlement, along with $1.9 billion in ether options. Each Deribit options contract corresponds to one BTC or one ETH. As the largest cryptocurrency options exchange, Deribit handles over 85% of global activity.
Of the $5.8 billion in bitcoin options, around 20% were "in-the-money" with favorable strike prices. A similar trend was observed with ether options. For call options, being in-the-money means a strike price lower than the current market rate, whereas it’s the opposite for puts. This setup allows holders to buy or sell profitably, potentially increasing market volatility.
"Of the BTC options expiring, about 20% is in the money. This larger expiry is likely to heighten market volatility or activity as traders close or roll over their positions, which could also impact prices," said Deribit in a note seen by CoinDesk.
Rolling over positions involves closing trades due to expire and opening new ones for future expiries, often to extend winning positions.
Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.