FRC - Why did bitcoin go down today? Speculation on easing bank stresses

2023-05-01 17:45:47 ET

Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) sank to below $27K in Monday late afternoon trading amid speculation that JPMorgan's ( JPM ) takeover of First Republic Bank ( FRC ) could help contain the regional banking crisis.

The largest cryptocurrency by market cap retreated 5% to $27.97K as of shortly before 6:00 p.m. ET. Equities, by comparison, rolled over modestly as investors braced for the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision on Wednesday, in which the Federal Open Market Committee is expected to lift the benchmark rate by another 25 basis points, bring the target range to 5.0%-5.25%.

The recent tumult in the traditional banking system served as a major boon for bitcoin ( BTC-USD ), surging over 31% since the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, and other major digital tokens. YTD, bitcoin is still up 68.2%. Earlier on Monday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation seized First Republic ( FRC ) and later sold most of its assets and deposits to JPMorgan ( JPM ), in what marked the second biggest bank failure in U.S. history.

Increased regulatory uncertainty and a tough macroeconomic backdrop have also weighed on bitcoin's ( BTC-USD ) price in recent weeks, as it attempted to break out of the $30K key technical level numerous times but failed each time.

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