Bitcoin climbs to nearly $65,000 as Fed chair signals interest rate cut

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The price of Bitcoin climbed to nearly $65,000 early Saturday after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled an interest rate cut at the central bank's upcoming meeting in September.

Bitcoin saw its price climbing to as high as $64,845 on Friday after Powell's much-anticipated speech at the annual Jackson Hole symposium in the US state of Wyoming.

The world's biggest cryptocurrency was trading around $64,653 at 6.30 p.m. EDT (2230GMT) Friday for a daily gain of 6.8%.

Ethereum, the world's largest altcoin by market cap, was trading at $2,788 for a daily increase of 6.2%.

The value of the cryptocurrency market stood at $2.27 trillion, rising 5.79% for the day, according to CoinMarketCap, a digital asset price-tracking website.

Bitcoin's share, known as dominance, was at 56.1% and Ethereum's was at 14.7%, while some altcoins soared more than 20% for the day.

Fed Chair Powell said his confidence has grown that inflation is on a sustainable path back to 2%, saying "time has come" for an adjustment in monetary policy.

"The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks," he told the annual Jackson Hole symposium.

Cryptocurrencies saw a steep decline at the beginning of August when recession fears sent global markets into a freefall, as Bitcoin fell to as low as $49,551 on Aug. 5.