The bitcoin exchange rate is falling on Friday, trading near the lows since the end of February on fears that the Federal Reserve is not yet ready to start cutting interest rates, CNBC reports.
By 11:03 a.m., bitcoin is down 6.7% to $54,359 thousand, according to CoinDesk. Over the past month, the cryptocurrency has lost almost 23% of its value, although it has added about 30% since the beginning of the year.
Earlier, the minutes of the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) held on June 11-12 were published. The Fed’s executives need further evidence of slowing inflation to begin easing monetary policy, according to the document.
High interest rates are considered a negative factor for bitcoin, as they reduce demand for risky assets, CNBC notes.
In addition, the German authorities on Thursday sold about 3 thousand bitcoins worth about $175 million, according to the analytical company Arkham Intelligence. The authorities still own about 40 thousand bitcoins confiscated in various criminal cases.
