Bitcoin Awaits Fed Rate, AVAX Overtakes Dogecoin Amid Altcoin Surge

• Bitcoin Stabilizes Around $41,000 Ahead of Upcoming U.S. Interest Rate Decision
• Ethereum Sees Minor Dip as Altcoins Thrive
• Avalanche Surpasses Dogecoin's Market Capitalization
• Blockchain Solutions Celestia and Aptos Experience Boosts
• Expectations for The Federal Reserve's Decision
• Rate Hike Expectations Amidst Slowing Inflation

Bitcoin Stabilizes Around $41,000 Ahead of Upcoming U.S. Interest Rate Decision

Bitcoin$42,260 -0.64%'s price managed to stabilize around the $41,000 mark on Tuesday, ahead of the crucial US interest rate decision scheduled for this Wednesday. This comes as crypto traders are still processing the major leverage flush and the largest daily drawdown since mid-August experienced on Monday. After recovering to $42,000 during the day from Monday's low of $40,200, the largest crypto asset dipped to $40,600 during the U.S. afternoon hours. It pared some losses to be trading at $41,300, a slight 0.3% increase over the past 24 hours.

Ethereum Sees Minor Dip as Altcoins Thrive

Ethereum$2,315 -2.42% (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency, experienced a minor decline of 1% during the same period, falling below the $2,200 mark. Despite the slowed momentum of Bitcoin and Ethereum, several altcoins made significant leaps. The native tokens of Polkadot$8.21 -2.51% (DOT), Cosmos (ATOM), and Injective$35.9 1.60% (INJ) were among the highest-performing crypto assets, recording gains between 10%-20% over the past 24 hours.

Avalanche Surpasses Dogecoin's Market Capitalization

Avalanche (AVAX) stole the spotlight by overtaking the market capitalization of the highly popular meme token, Dogecoin$0.091 -0.42% (DOGE), and clocked an impressive near 5% gain on the day. Over the past month, it has more than doubled its price.

Blockchain Solutions Celestia and Aptos Experience Boosts

The recently launched blockchain data solution Celestia (TIA) saw a 20% surge to a record high after announcing it will be an option for blockchain builders using Polygon$0.967 -3.65%'s software tools to create new layer-2 networks atop Ethereum. Simultaneously, Aptos token (APT) rallied 16%, unfazed by the release of over $200 million worth of previously locked-up tokens into its outstanding supply earlier in the day, as per Token.Unlocks' data.

Expectations for The Federal Reserve's Decision

The CoinDesk Market Index (CMI) has noted a 1.2% increase over the past 24 hours. This index tracks a weighted basket of almost 200 digital assets. The Federal Reserve, the central bank of the U.S., is expected to maintain the Fed fund rates at 5.25%-5.5% at the conclusion of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Wednesday, as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation continues to decline.

Rate Hike Expectations Amidst Slowing Inflation

Caleb Franzen, founder of Cubic Analytics, highlights that the trend of disinflation is strong, with the latest round of CPI data for November 2023 serving as evidence. This consistent slowing of inflation will likely cause the Fed to pause rate hikes on Wednesday for the third consecutive occasion. All eyes will be on the Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference for indications of potential rate cuts next year. Analysts at Bitfinex have noted that a pause in rate hikes could be interpreted as a bullish signal for the market, considering that cryptocurrencies have previously seen positive market movements following the Fed's decisions to keep interest rates steady.

Edited by Jonathan Stoker