Bitget App
Trade smarter
Buy cryptoMarketsTradeFuturesEarnSquareMore
Fed Minutes Reveal December Rate Cut on a Knife’s Edge, Bitcoin Slips Below $89,000

Fed Minutes Reveal December Rate Cut on a Knife’s Edge, Bitcoin Slips Below $89,000

BeInCryptoBeInCrypto2025/11/19 11:31
By:Lockridge Okoth

The latest FOMC minutes reveal December is now a razor-thin policy call, with a narrow majority leaning against a rate cut. Liquidity stress, tariff-driven inflation, and Bitcoin’s fragile momentum are all feeding into one of the Fed’s most delicate decisions in years.

The Federal Reserve’s newly released minutes from the October 28–29 meeting have thrown fresh uncertainty into the December policy outlook, sharpening market volatility across equities, bonds, and Bitcoin.

While the minutes reflect economic data only available at the time of the meeting, the language shift inside the document has become the latest flashpoint for analysts dissecting the Fed’s next move.

Fed Minutes Expose a Narrow Majority Against a December Rate Cut

The Fed described “many” officials as seeing a December rate cut as “likely not appropriate,” while “several” said a cut “could well be appropriate.”

In Fed-watcher parlance, the hierarchy matters. “some” > “several”, and “many” outweighs both. This indicates that a narrow majority opposed cutting rates in December at the time of the meeting.

💥BREAKING:FOMC MINUTES: – MANY SAW DECEMBER RATE CUT AS LIKELY NOT APPROPRIATE– SEVERAL SAID DECEMBER CUT 'COULD WELL BE' APPROPRIATE

— Crypto Rover

The minutes also indicated emerging stress points in money markets:

  • Repo volatility,
  • Declining ON RRP usage, and
  • Reserves drifting toward scarcity.

This combination historically preceded the end of quantitative tightening (QT). Sentiment, therefore, is that the Fed may be closer than expected to ending balance-sheet runoff.

Ahead of this release, markets had already de-risked, with the Bitcoin price slipping below $89,000 to a 7-month low. The sentiment spread across crypto stocks and TradFi indices.

Fed Minutes Reveal December Rate Cut on a Knife’s Edge, Bitcoin Slips Below $89,000 image 0Bitcoin (BTC) Price Performance. Source:

Macro traders say the real story is the razor-thin nature of the Fed divide. The minutes indicate no firm consensus, suggesting December is shaping up to be one of the tightest policy calls since the Fed began its inflation fight.

Some officials emphasized still-elevated inflation risks; others pointed to cooling labor conditions and fading demand. With both sides arming themselves with recent post-meeting data, including softer CPI, stable jobless claims, and cooling retail activity, December could swing on the next two data prints.

For now, the market is recalibrating to a scenario where liquidity is tightening, policy uncertainty is rising, and Bitcoin sits in a structurally vulnerable zone until buyers regain initiative.

If the Fed chooses to hold in December, markets may need to brace for a longer-than-expected plateau and more volatility ahead.

0

Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.

PoolX: Earn new token airdrops
Lock your assets and earn 10%+ APR
Lock now!

You may also like

Ethereum News Today: "Ethereum ETFs Attract $175M Investments as Prices Fall—Large Holders Wager on Potential Undervaluation and Rebound"

- Ethereum's price rose above $3,000 amid $175M in 2-day ETF inflows led by BlackRock and Fidelity, signaling growing institutional demand for regulated crypto exposure. - Whale wallets accumulated 3% of ETH supply at lower prices, contrasting short-term bearish technical indicators and showing historical dip-buying patterns. - Macroeconomic uncertainties including Fed rate cut expectations and government shutdown risks created mixed signals in futures markets despite ETF-driven optimism. - Analysts predic

Bitget-RWA2025/11/30 18:22
Ethereum News Today: "Ethereum ETFs Attract $175M Investments as Prices Fall—Large Holders Wager on Potential Undervaluation and Rebound"

Ethereum Updates Today: Diverging Views on Ethereum’s Value: Conventional Analysis Versus Blockchain-Based Reasoning

- Simon Kim's Ethereum Valuation Dashboard estimates the network is 57% undervalued at $3,022 vs. a $4,747 fair price using 8 blended models. - High-reliability models like Metcalfe's Law ($9,583) and DCF ($9,067) contrast with traditional metrics showing 70% overvaluation. - Institutional adoption grows as Bhutan stakes $970k ETH and migrates to Ethereum, while technical indicators test key support levels. - Kim emphasizes market sentiment and regulation outweigh metrics, as crypto-native and traditional

Bitget-RWA2025/11/30 18:22
Ethereum Updates Today: Diverging Views on Ethereum’s Value: Conventional Analysis Versus Blockchain-Based Reasoning

XRP News Today: XRP ETF Buzz Contrasts With On-Chain Slowdown—Will Institutional Interest Ignite a Surge?

- XRP faces critical juncture in December 2025 amid ETF adoption, subdued on-chain activity, and mixed price signals. - Three major XRP ETFs (XRPZ, GXRP, XRPC) attracted $164M in first-day inflows, boosting institutional credibility but not yet driving robust token usage. - Price fluctuates near $2.20-$2.24 range as analysts monitor technical levels; breakout above $2.24 could target $2.30-$2.75, while breakdown risks $1.88-$1.91. - Future depends on ETF inflows, RippleNet expansion, RLUSD adoption, and ma

Bitget-RWA2025/11/30 18:22
XRP News Today: XRP ETF Buzz Contrasts With On-Chain Slowdown—Will Institutional Interest Ignite a Surge?