Bitcoin slides, Fed keeps interest rates steady

Bitcoin price fell as low as $56,600 on Wednesday, leading to the FOMC meeting where the central bank left interest rates unchanged at 5.25% and 5.5%.

“Inflation fell last year but remains high. In its press release on Wednesday, the Fed stated that there has been no progress towards the Committee’s 2 percent inflation target in recent months.

Inflation accelerated in the United States in March, with the consumer price index rising to 3.5% on an annual basis from 3.2% in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Standard Chartered predicts further declines to $50,000, according to The Block.

CoinGecko data shows that Bitcoin started falling from $60,000 and made a slight recovery following the Federal Reserve’s announcement, rising to $57,708.

The price drop comes despite positive developments in the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency industry, including the launch of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in Hong Kong on Tuesday.

The Bitcoin network underwent a four-year halving on April 20, with miner rewards reduced by 50% from 6.25 Bitcoins to 3,125 Bitcoins.

The halving slows down the flow of new Bitcoins, affecting the scarcity of the asset.

Standard Chartered’s year-end price prediction for Bitcoin is $150,000.