Bitcoin surges past $22k, highest in four months
InfoQuest – Bitcoin surged more than 6% on Friday (Jan. 20), breaking past 22,000, its highest level since mid-September. Meanwhile, investors are keeping an eye on the results of the US Federal Reserve meeting early next month, in which the Fed is expected to raise interest rates by only 0.25%.
As of 10:07 GMT on Friday, or about 5:07 AM ET, Bitcoin rose $1,315, or 6.24%, to $22,401.
Reuters reports that Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, is up 35.8% from this year’s low of $16,496 it was tested on Jan. 1, 2023.
Ether rose $87.8, or 5.66%, to $1,639.2 on Friday.
Analysts commented that Bitcoin is driven by the expectation that The US Federal Reserve (Fed) will slow down the interest rate hike.
Investors weigh nearly 100% on the forecast. The Fed will raise interest rates by 0.25% in February, the Fed’s first monetary policy meeting this year. After the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Producer Price Index (PPI) of the US each indicate that US inflation has passed its peak.
Recently, CME Group’s FedWatch Tool indicates that investors weigh 97.2% that the Fed will raise interest rates by 0.25% to a range of 4.50-4.75% at its Jan. 31-Feb. This gives 76.7% weight.
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