Countdown Begins for Critical FED Meeting: What Will Bitcoin Do?

• As Bitcoin price once again dropped by 6% testing the $61,000 support level, Ethereum is testing support at $3,000 with an 8% drop.
• According to Coinglass data, approximately $670 million worth of liquidation occurred in the past 24 hours, marking one of the most significant liquidation events in the past two weeks.
• Bitcoin has remained near its lowest levels in about two weeks and showed weak performance due to diminishing flows into Bitcoin ETFs.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is set to announce its critical interest rate decision today; Bitcoin price continues to be under pressure ahead of the interest rate decision!

Bitcoin Price Under Pressure as FOMC Approaches

As this week’s FOMC meeting approaches, Bitcoin and the overall cryptocurrency market have been under significant pressure. Bitcoin price once again dropped by 6% testing the $61,000 support level, while Ethereum dropped by 8% testing the $3,000 support level. Investors anticipate a deeper correction in the altcoin market.

According to Coinglass data, approximately $670 million worth of liquidation occurred in the past 24 hours, marking one of the most significant liquidation events in the past two weeks. Approximately $500 million worth of long positions and $170 million worth of short positions were liquidated.

According to the data, the overall cryptocurrency market suffered a staggering loss of about $600 billion after reaching a peak of $2.9 trillion last week. Tokens such as Ether, BNB, and the meme coin favorite Dogecoin experienced losses during this period.

According to analysts at K33 Research, the liquidation of bullish derivative positions may not be complete yet, which could be a significant obstacle to a rapid recovery in the digital asset market. In a note to investors, K33 Research’s Anders Helseth and Vetle Lunde wrote:

“Risks thus remain significant for continued increasing downward volatility stemming from long liquidations.”

Bitcoin has remained near its lowest levels in about two weeks and showed weak performance due to diminishing flows into Bitcoin ETFs. Additionally, concerns about the possibility of reduced interest rate cuts in the U.S. contributed to the prevailing calm market sensitivity around the cryptocurrency.

Nevertheless, major market players continued to buy Bitcoins on every dip. On Tuesday, March 19th, MicroStrategy announced the purchase of an additional 9,245 Bitcoins, stating that the company now holds 1% of the total BTC supply.

What to Expect from the FOMC?

It is likely that the Federal Reserve will refrain from signaling an immediate interest rate cut at this week’s meeting. Instead, it will prioritize ongoing inflation rates and monitor gradual increases in unemployment figures.

During the Federal Open Market Committee’s two-day policy meeting, it is expected that interest rates will remain within the range of 5.25% to 5.5%, which was reached initially in July, marking the highest level in two decades. The decision on interest rates and the release of economic forecasts are scheduled to be announced at 2:00 p.m. in Washington. Following this, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference 30 minutes later, according to a Bloomberg report.