Bitcoin Extends Biggest Jump in Over a Week as Powell Touches on Crypto Regulation

- Bitcoin extended its biggest jump in more than a week following the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting and comments from Chair Jerome Powell that touched briefly upon crypto regulation.

Bitcoin extended its biggest jump in over a week on Thursday after the Federal Reserve paused its monetary easing, with Chair Jerome Powell’s comments on crypto regulation briefly boosting the token’s mood.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency rose 1.3% to around $105,134 by 8:30 a.30 ET (08:30 GMT), adding to a 3.5% gain in the previous session. Smaller coins such as ether and solana also rose.

Fed officials paused their monetary easing on Wednesday, and Powell signaled in his press conference that the central bank will want to see more progress on inflation before considering any further interest rate cuts.

In response to a question on the risks posed by digital assets, Powell said banks were “perfectly able to serve crypto customers as long as they understand and can manage the risks.” He also said that “a greater regulatory apparatus around crypto” from Congress would be “very constructive.”

The comments were staid and measured, but they come against a backdrop of heightened investor expectations for friendly digital-asset regulations under President Donald Trump, who has tightly embraced the crypto sector.

“Traders in the US were reacting to the crypto comments from Powell, and Bitcoin pushed higher,” said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG Australia. “From a wider technical perspective, there are indications that the Bitcoin rally is maturing.”

Bitcoin hit a record high of $109,241 ahead of Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, but it has since pulled back. The token is up over 50% since his election victory in early November, leading some to question whether the rally is due a rest.

However, others argue that the increasing US engagement with crypto bodes well for further gains. Some of the latest developments include CME Group rolling out futures products on Robinhood’s app, including for bitcoin and ether.

Investment firms are also bombarding the Securities & Exchange Commission with applications to launch more crypto exchange-traded funds. Companies are “protesting the SEC’s boundaries, with unique filings including memecoin ETFs,” Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Government Analyst Nathan Dean said in a note.

Bitcoin’s recent moves have also been correlated with US technology stocks. As a result, the token may have been helped by a rise in Nasdaq 100 equity futures on Thursday as investors digested corporate earnings reports.