The Federal Reserve hints at not being ready to cut interest rates, Bitcoin falls to a two-month low

According to the financial news app Zhitong Finance, due to the minutes of the June meeting published by the Federal Reserve showing that it is not yet ready to cut interest rates, Bitcoin fell to around $57,000 on Thursday, hitting a new low in two months. Meanwhile, Ethereum fell by 5% to $3,120.

In March this year, after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the first U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF, Bitcoin soared to a historical high of over $73,700. The spot Bitcoin ETF allows investors to purchase products that track the price of Bitcoin without actually owning Bitcoin. Cryptocurrency supporters say this helps legitimize the asset class and makes it easier for large institutional investors to participate.

However, since then, the price of Bitcoin has been hovering between about $59,000 and $72,000. It is worth mentioning that Mt. Gox, once the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange that filed for bankruptcy in 2014 after suffering losses from a hack, is about to start repaying users' massive cryptocurrency losses. Analysts believe that compensated users may trigger a wave of cryptocurrency selling, putting greater downward pressure on Bitcoin.

John Glover, Chief Investment Officer of the cryptocurrency lending company Ledn and former Managing Director at Barclays, believes that the windfall received by Mt. Gox users may translate into a massive sell-off of Bitcoin as investors look to lock in profits. He said, "Many people will obviously cash out, feeling that their cryptocurrency assets trapped by Mt. Gox's bankruptcy are the best investment they have ever made. Some people will obviously choose to take the money and run."

However, analysts at the cryptocurrency data and research company CCData pointed out in a research report on Tuesday that Bitcoin has not yet reached the peak of the current appreciation cycle and is likely to set a new historical high again. The report stated that historical market cycles indicate that the "halving" event of Bitcoin always precedes a period of price inflation, which can last for 12 to 18 months, "until reaching the peak of the cycle," with the most recent "halving" occurring on April 19 this year, indicating that Bitcoin has not yet reached the peak of the cycle.

The report also stated, "In addition, we observe that after the 'halving' events in the previous cycles, trading activity on centralized exchanges decreased for nearly two months, which also seems to reflect this cycle. This suggests that the current cycle may further extend until 2025."

Furthermore, Tom Lee, Head of Research at Fundstrat, stated that despite Mt. Gox's impending repayment of users' massive cryptocurrency losses, he remains firm in his belief that Bitcoin will reach a price of $150,000. He mentioned that one of the reasons for being bullish on cryptocurrencies is knowing that one of the biggest threats to cryptocurrencies will disappear in July, and he expects a strong rebound in cryptocurrencies in the second half of the year