Investors believe it is highly likely that the target rate will remain unchanged at the June 14 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to increase the federal funds rate by 25 basis points on May 3. As the battle against inflation in the U.S. rages on, the Biden administration appointed Philip Jefferson as the new vice chair to replace Lael Brainard. The American president stated that his nominees will play a “crucial role” in maintaining price stability and overseeing the country’s financial institutions.
Just over a week ago, on May 3, 2023, the U.S. central bank raised the federal funds rate to 5.25% after a quarter-point rate hike. Fed chair Jerome Powell was quick to emphasize that inflation was still a major concern and that the FOMC was committed to bringing the inflation rate back down to the 2% target. However, the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, released on May 10, revealed that over the past 12 months, “the all items index increased 4.9%.”
Last Friday was a rough day for the stock market, with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq Composite, and Russell 2000 Index all closing in the red. The crypto economy has also been experiencing a downward trend, while precious metals like gold and silver have been trading sideways.
The next FOMC meeting is shaping up to be a nail-biter, with the latest data from the CME Fedwatch tool indicating that there’s an 84.5% chance the interest rate will remain unchanged. However, there’s also a slim chance of a quarter-point rate hike to 5.50%, with the Fedwatch tool showing a probability of roughly 15.5%.
Forbes journalist Simon Moore reports that most policymakers favor keeping interest rates at their current level, according to the latest data from March. However, Moore says a few believe rates should be closer to 6%, and one participant predicts rates will not remain at their current level by the end of the year.
According to the reporter, the question on every market investor’s mind is whether or not the central bank will pivot this year. In addition to the expectations concerning the next FOMC meeting, president Joe Biden has also made some major changes to the Fed’s leadership.
With fresh blood at the helm, many are wondering how this will impact the central bank’s policies and priorities moving forward. Powell will now have a new second-in-command as president Biden appointed Philip Jefferson as the new vice chair. Biden stated that Jefferson was confirmed by the Senate with a strong bipartisan vote of 91-7 and stressed that he looks forward to his “swift confirmation” as vice chair.
Reports suggest that Jefferson is aligned with Powell’s efforts to curb inflation and is unlikely to push back against the Fed’s current policies.
What do you think the appointment of Philip Jefferson as the new Fed vice chair means for the future of the central bank’s policies? Share your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below.
Jamie Redman is the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News and a financial tech journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open-source code, and decentralized applications. Since September 2015, Redman has written more than 7,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News about the disruptive protocols emerging today.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.
NFT Sales Volume Saw a Small Uptick This Week — Moonbirds, Mutant Apes Take Top Sales
Non-fungible token (NFT) sales saw a small uptick over the last week as $658.4 million in NFT sales were recorded, up 3.35% in seven days. Out of 15 blockchains, Polygon-based NFT sales saw the largest increase in volume, jumping 106.68% ... read more.
Investors believe it is highly likely that the target rate will remain unchanged at the June 14 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to increase the federal funds rate by 25 basis points on May 3. As the battle against inflation in the U.S. rages on, the Biden administration appointed Philip Jefferson as the new vice chair to replace Lael Brainard. The American president stated that his nominees will play a “crucial role” in maintaining price stability and overseeing the country’s financial institutions.
Just over a week ago, on May 3, 2023, the U.S. central bank raised the federal funds rate to 5.25% after a quarter-point rate hike. Fed chair Jerome Powell was quick to emphasize that inflation was still a major concern and that the FOMC was committed to bringing the inflation rate back down to the 2% target. However, the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, released on May 10, revealed that over the past 12 months, “the all items index increased 4.9%.”
Last Friday was a rough day for the stock market, with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq Composite, and Russell 2000 Index all closing in the red. The crypto economy has also been experiencing a downward trend, while precious metals like gold and silver have been trading sideways.
The next FOMC meeting is shaping up to be a nail-biter, with the latest data from the CME Fedwatch tool indicating that there’s an 84.5% chance the interest rate will remain unchanged. However, there’s also a slim chance of a quarter-point rate hike to 5.50%, with the Fedwatch tool showing a probability of roughly 15.5%.
Forbes journalist Simon Moore reports that most policymakers favor keeping interest rates at their current level, according to the latest data from March. However, Moore says a few believe rates should be closer to 6%, and one participant predicts rates will not remain at their current level by the end of the year.
According to the reporter, the question on every market investor’s mind is whether or not the central bank will pivot this year. In addition to the expectations concerning the next FOMC meeting, president Joe Biden has also made some major changes to the Fed’s leadership.
With fresh blood at the helm, many are wondering how this will impact the central bank’s policies and priorities moving forward. Powell will now have a new second-in-command as president Biden appointed Philip Jefferson as the new vice chair. Biden stated that Jefferson was confirmed by the Senate with a strong bipartisan vote of 91-7 and stressed that he looks forward to his “swift confirmation” as vice chair.
Reports suggest that Jefferson is aligned with Powell’s efforts to curb inflation and is unlikely to push back against the Fed’s current policies.
What do you think the appointment of Philip Jefferson as the new Fed vice chair means for the future of the central bank’s policies? Share your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below.
Jamie Redman is the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News and a financial tech journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open-source code, and decentralized applications. Since September 2015, Redman has written more than 7,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News about the disruptive protocols emerging today.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.
NFT Sales Volume Saw a Small Uptick This Week — Moonbirds, Mutant Apes Take Top Sales
Non-fungible token (NFT) sales saw a small uptick over the last week as $658.4 million in NFT sales were recorded, up 3.35% in seven days. Out of 15 blockchains, Polygon-based NFT sales saw the largest increase in volume, jumping 106.68% ... read more.
In the past week, the Bitcoin network has made progress in resolving its congestion issues. On May 7, 2023, the number of unconfirmed transactions reached an all-time high of over 500,000 transfers, causing a major backlog. However, as of today, that number has been reduced to 263,406. Currently, 184 blocks need to be cleared to process the majority of transactions that are still stuck in the network’s mempool.
The long queue of transactions is finally starting to subside as bitcoin miners have started catching up with some of the backlog. As we reported three days ago, Bitcoin.com News noted the beginning of the congestion-clearing process, with unconfirmed transactions dropping from over 500,000 on May 7 to just above 300,000 on Thursday, May 11.
According to mempool.io statistics, high-priority transactions were priced at $3 per transfer, while low-priority transactions cost $2.23 per transfer at that time. Current statistics on May 14 show that onchain fees have significantly subsided on the Bitcoin blockchain over the past three days. Just a few days ago, a high-priority transaction would have cost $3, but today, that fee has dropped to $0.83.
A medium-priority transfer is now priced at $0.79, while a low-priority transaction can cost around $0.75. This is a significant improvement, with high-priority onchain fees sliding by 72.33% over the past 72 hours. Additionally, the number of unconfirmed transactions stuck in the queue has reduced to 263,406, which is just above half of what it held on May 7.
On May 9, the number of transactions was around 413,420, which means that 36.28% of the backlog has been cleared in the past five days. While fees skyrocketed to roughly $30 per transaction on May 7 and have been quite volatile lately, the Lightning Network’s capacity did not improve. In fact, the number of BTC locked into the Lightning Network dropped from 5,463 BTC on May 5 to today’s capacity of 5,415 BTC on May 14.
The dip indicates that roughly $1.28 million in value left the Lightning Network amid the transaction backlog chaos. On May 8, the Lightning Network boasted 73,352 unique channels. However, that number has since decreased to the current 71,286 unique channels. According to mempool.space’s Lightning Network metrics, roughly 5,057 BTC in capacity is on clearnet, while 253 BTC of capacity is using Tor. The remaining Lightning Network capacity is identified as “other.”
What are your thoughts on the recent developments in the Bitcoin network and the Lightning Network’s capacity? Share your insights in the comments section below.
Jamie Redman is the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News and a financial tech journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open-source code, and decentralized applications. Since September 2015, Redman has written more than 7,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News about the disruptive protocols emerging today.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.
Oman to Incorporate Real Estate Tokenization in Virtual Assets Regulatory Framework
Real estate tokenization is set to be incorporated into Oman Capital Markets Authority (OCMA)'s virtual asset regulatory framework. According to an advisor with the authority, the tokenizing of real estate will open investment opportunities for local and foreign investors. Real ... read more.
Source From : News