Why Bitcoin Crashed After Warsh’s Jackson Hole Speech – and What Happens Next

BTC was rejected at over $81,000 once again. This time, though, there was an evident catalyst. Bitcoin’s rally from under $65,000 to over $81,000 faced its first major macro setback after Fed Chair Kevin Warsh delivered a hawkish message at Jackson Hole on Friday. The bigger question now is whether potentially higher rates and rising Treasury yields can derail the impressive market recovery. Although BTC remained relatively stable during the speech, it dumped by $3,000 in hours after its conclusion, slipping below $77,000 for the first time in almost a week. The sell-off extended to essentially all other financial markets, including stocks, precious metals, and other risk-sensitive assets. So, What Really Happened? Warsh didn’t say directly that the Fed is seriously contemplating hiking the rates, but he didn’t have to. His message was quite clear: inflation remains too high, the US economy is still strong, and the Federal Reserve cannot simply declare victory. Its preferred PCE inflation gauge currently stands at 3.7% YoY, while its six-month annualized rate is even higher at 4.1%. Both remain far above the central bank’s target. He emphasized that the Fed’s 2% inflation objective...