Bitcoin price traded in the $92,000 range earlier today, but has now fallen back towards $90,000, reflecting continued volatility despite the US Federal Reserve’s 25 basis point interest rate cut.
After briefly rising above $93,000 yesterday, the crypto fell below $90,000 and stabilized around $90,600 at the time of writing.
The withdrawal comes amid mixed signals from the Fed. While the rate cut to 3.50%-3.75% was widely anticipated, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s cautious remarks and a 9-3 split among FOMC members – one favoring a deeper 50 basis point cut and two opposing any reduction – dampened enthusiasm for risk assets, including BTC.
Analysts described the decline as a “sell the facts” reaction, as markets had already priced in the move.
On top of this, Vanguard Group has begun allowing clients to trade spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), marking a remarkable expansion of access to crypto products for the $12 trillion asset manager.
Still, Vanguard’s senior management stressed that its fundamental view of BTC and other cryptocurrencies remains skeptical.
John Ameriks, Vanguard’s global head of quantitative equity, said Thursday at Bloomberg’s ETF’s in Depth conference that Bitcoin is better viewed as a speculative collectible than a productive asset.
Comparing it to a viral plush toy, Ameriks highlighted that BTC lacks income, compounding potential and cash flow generation – the core attributes Vanguard looks for in long-term investments.
“In the absence of clear evidence that the underlying technology delivers lasting economic value, it’s hard for me to think of Bitcoin as anything more than a digital Labubu,” he said, according to Bloomberg.
Despite this warning, Vanguard’s decision to allow trading of BTC ETFs on its platform was influenced by the growing track record of such products since the first BTC ETF was launched in January 2024.
Ameriks said the firm wanted to ensure these ETFs accurately reflect their advertised holdings and perform as expected.
Banks engaging with bitcoin
Earlier this week, PNC Bank became the first major US bank to offer direct spot trading of bitcoin to qualified Private Bank clients through its digital platform using Coinbase’s Crypto-as-a-Service infrastructure.
The launch follows a strategic partnership announced in July and reflects a growing trend among US banks to integrate bitcoin into wealth management services.
Also last week, Bank of America encouraged its wealth management clients to allocate 1% to 4% of their portfolios to digital assets, signaling a major shift in its approach to Bitcoin exposure.
Today, Bitcoin is trading at approximately $90,115.85, with a circulating supply of nearly 19.96 million BTC and a market cap of $1.81 trillion.
Prices have fluctuated modestly over the past week, reflecting broader market volatility.