Altcoins expanded their rally on Tuesday afternoon in the U.S. after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that the Federal Reserve should consider a 50 basis point rate cut at its upcoming September meeting.
“The main question now is whether we should implement a 50 basis-point rate cut in September,” Bessent told news sources. He added that the Fed could have made a rate cut in June if provided with accurate data, which he termed a “foundational issue” for the central bank.
The markets had already largely accounted for a 25 basis point move in September, but the prospect of a 50 basis point cut seemed to stimulate further movement.
It’s important to note that Bessent is Treasury Secretary and not a member of the Federal Reserve, much less its chairman. Nevertheless, his role in selecting a replacement for Fed Chair Powell has given his words considerable weight.
Ether surged further, now up nearly 9% over the past 24 hours, reaching above $4,600 for the first time since November 2021.
Other cryptocurrencies, including Cardano, Solana, and Litecoin, also showed upward movement, each rising about 8% in the last 24 hours, while XRP increased by 3.5%.
Bitcoin bulls remained inactive during this rally, which also pushed equity markets up by more than 1%. The cryptocurrency is trading at $120,000, relatively unchanged over the past day. The dollar weakened against all major currencies.
This rally was spurred earlier on Tuesday morning when new data showed consumer prices rising approximately in line with estimates in July.
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