The price of bitcoin has dropped sharply ahead of the U.S. FOMC announcement slated for later today.
Bitcoin 
BTC
-9.13%
has fallen below the $58,000 mark to its current price around $57,400, down 9.6% in the last day. The cryptocurrency has been trending downward since its all-time high above $73,000 in March.
The Fed will be publishing a policy decision at 2 PM ET this afternoon, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell set to kick off a press conference at 2.30 PM.
Traders are anticipting a potentially large move in the stock market, according to Bloomberg, over concerns that the Fed will keep rates higher for a longer period.
The anticipation is that there will be zero changes made to interest rates, notes CNBC, as inflation has not yet come down sufficiently. However there is some hope that rates will be cut further down the line.
The crypto market tends to react strongly to FOMC meetings, typically with large initial spikes before settling down. The price action ahead of the announcement may suggest traders preparing for it.
The wider crypto market has also headed south, with the GM30 Index — which tracks the performance of the top 30 cryptocurrencies — down 9% to 118.
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Tim is the Editor-In-Chief of The Block. Prior to joining The Block, Tim was a news editor at Decrypt. He has earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of York and studied news journalism at Press Association Training. Follow him on X @Timccopeland.