Fed Reiterates No Rate Hikes Before 2023! Investors May Flock to Buy Bitcoin
Beijing time, March 18 (Thursday) at 2:30 AM, Powell stated at the press conference following the Fed rate decision that a short-term rise in inflation above 2% does not meet the criteria for raising interest rates. While downplaying the upward trend in US Treasury returns, Powell emphasized that the Fed needs to see actual inflation rise before tightening policy, and will not begin discussing tapering at this time.
Following the Fed decision and Powell's remarks, by market close, all three major indices rose collectively, with the Dow closing above 33,000 for the first time in history, and both it and the S&P 500刷新本周一所创的收盘历史新高.
Meanwhile, both gold and Bitcoin rallied in tandem. Gold rose 1.15% between 2-3 AM. And Bitcoin , as shown by OKX real-time market data, on the 1-hour chart, Bitcoin began rising at 11 PM on March 17, with a rapid surge, and by 11 AM on March 18, the maximum gain was nearly 10%. On the daily chart, Bitcoin is approaching its all-time high, and if the upward trend continues, it may very well challenge the $60,000 mark intraday.
US High-Net-Worth Individuals and Retail investors May Flock In
Before the Fed held its press conference, on the evening of March 17, CNBC reported that Morgan Stanley would become the first major US bank to offer Bitcoin fund investment to high-net-worth clients. According to people familiar with the matter, the bank will offer three fund investment channels, and will only allow investors with at least $2 million in assets and extremely high risk tolerance to participate. For investment firms, at least $5 million in funds must be held to obtain shares. To control risk, Morgan Stanley will limit Bitcoin investment to 2.5% of its total net assets.
Among the three newly launched funds, two come from Galaxy Digital managed by billionaire Mike Novogratz, and the third is jointly launched by asset management company FS Investments and Bitcoin company NYDIG. The Galaxy Bitcoin Fund LP and FS NYDIG Select Fund have a minimum investment of $25,000, while the Galaxy Institutional Fund LP has a minimum investment of $5 million. Customers may be able to invest as early as next month, at which time the bank's financial advisors will complete training courses related to the new products.
Also on March 17, Visa's CEO AI Kelly revealed on the Fortune Leadership podcast that it is working to enable Bitcoin purchases on Visa and allow seamless conversion of Bitcoin to fiat. "Enabling instant conversion of cryptocurrency to fiat will allow approximately 700 million merchants worldwide to accept Bitcoin as a payment method." AI Kelly added.
Beyond facilitating Bitcoin purchases, Visa will also collaborate with fiat-collateralized cryptocurrency (CBDC). AI Kelly pointed out, "We believe these currencies (fiat-collateralized cryptocurrency) have great potential to become a new payment tool."
If major banks like Morgan Stanley target institutional and high-net-worth users, then payment providers such as Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and Square mainly serve retail investors. On March 12, US President Biden officially signed the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill, and according to a survey released by Mizuho Securities on March 15, approximately $400 billion of the funds directly provided to US residents may be used to purchase Bitcoin and stocks.
Mizuho surveyed 235 people with household incomes below $150,000. As many as 40% of respondents said they would invest the funds directly received into Bitcoin and stocks, and among stocks and Bitcoin, 61% chose Bitcoin .
Additionally, on March 17, Cointelegraph reported that JPMorgan data shows retail investors purchased over 187,000 Bitcoin through PayPal and Square this quarter. Square's 2020 earnings report also shows that the influx of retail investors from traditional finance into the crypto space has become a clear trend.
According to reports, Square's Bitcoin revenue in 2020 was $4.57 billion, of which $97 million was the company's gross profit, with Bitcoin revenue growing 785% year over year. Square pointed out in its report that the number of active Cash App users increased, with approximately 3 million users buying or selling Bitcoin in 2020, and this trend accelerated in 2021, with over 1 million users purchasing Bitcoin for the first time in January.
The $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill signed by Biden provides direct funds to US residents as the third round of stimulus payments during the pandemic. In April 2020 and January 2021, the US government provided direct relief payments of $1,200 and $600 to US residents, respectively.
Worth noting, Square's Cash App added a new feature during the first round of US stimulus payments, allowing users to automatically purchase Bitcoin on a regular schedule. Cash App users can set a Bitcoin purchase frequency of daily, weekly, or bi-weekly, with a minimum of $10 each time. Additionally, another feature allows Cash App users to change the display unit from BTC to Sats, with a maximum cap of $10,000 worth of Bitcoin purchased per month.
OKX real-time market data shows that Bitcoin closed up 36.04% in April 2020 and 14.17% in January 2021. In January 2021, after Biden announced the $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill, the market, anticipating "massive money printing," continued the 3-month monthly bullish candle streak from October to December, adding another 3 months of bullish candles, achieving a 6-month consecutive bullish streak on the monthly chart.
As of March 18, CoinMarketCap data shows that Bitcoin's market cap has reached $10.88 trillion, while gold's market cap is between $10 trillion and $11 trillion, meaning Bitcoin has reached 10% of gold's market cap.
Perhaps seeing the源源不断进场的investors and digital collectibles repeatedly breaking records, Sotheby's, the globally renowned auction house, said it is considering accepting Bitcoin payments. Previously, its CEO Charles Stewart announced that it will auction NFT works by renowned artist PAK next month.
On the domestic front, on March 5 and March 17, Meitu purchased 31,000 Ethereum and 765 Bitcoin for $40 million and $50 million respectively, officially becoming the "first in Hong Kong stocks," and is expected to bring Bitcoin's "institutional fervor" to the Hong Kong stock market.
In the absence of extreme negative catalysts, particularly as risk assets continue to oscillate upward, Bitcoin breaking $100,000 does not seem far off.
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Disclaimer
This article may contain product-related content not applicable to your region. This article is committed to providing general information only and does not accept responsibility for any factual errors or omissions. This article represents the author's personal views only and does not represent OKX's views. This article is not intended to provide any advice, including but not limited to: (i) investment advice or investment recommendations; (ii) offers or solicitations to buy, sell, or hold digital assets; or (iii) financial, accounting, legal, or tax advice. Holding digital assets (including stablecoins) involves high risk, may experience significant volatility, or may even become worthless. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for you based on your financial situation. For questions specific to your circumstances, please consult your legal/tax/investment professional. The information in this article (including market data and statistics, if any) is provided for general reference purposes only. Although we have taken all reasonable precautions in preparing this data and these charts, we assume no responsibility for any factual errors or omissions expressed herein. © 2025 OKX. This article may be reproduced or distributed in its entirety, or excerpts of 100 words or fewer may be used, provided that such use is non-commercial in nature. Any reproduction or distribution of the full article must prominently state: "This article is copyrighted © 2025 OKX, used with permission." Permitted excerpts must cite the article title and include attribution, for example, "Article title, [author name (if applicable)], © 2025 OKX." Portions of this content may have been generated or assisted by AI tools. Derivative works or other uses of this article are not permitted.
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