Altcoins Suffer as Market Anticipates Release of Federal Reserve Minutes

According to The Block: Altcoins, including Ether and Solana, have taken a significant hit as the cryptocurrency market braces for the release of minutes from the November meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve. Bitcoin has also seen a dip, falling below the $37,000 mark, but its fall was somewhat tempered by its widely recognized role as a safe haven. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin saw a 0.8% decrease, settling at $36,976 as of 11:40 a.m. ET, according to CoinGecko. However, the fall in Bitcoin value was overshadowed by Altcoins like Solana and Ether which experienced greater slumps. Ether slipped over 3%, falling below the $2,000 to $1,990, while Solana plummeted close to 7%, lowering its price to $55.35. Bitfinex analysts suggested that Bitcoin has retained its value relatively better than other assets, such as Solana and Ether, due to the perception of Bitcoin being safer, less volatile, and a lower beta asset. These events coincide with the impending release of minutes from the last Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting by the Federal Reserve on Tuesday. These minutes will provide important indications of future monetary policies and their possible impact on the cryptocurrency market. Markets interpret the paused benchmark interest rate in the 5.25% to 5.5% range by the U.S. central bank as dovish. Still, an undertone of uncertainty remains, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell stating, "we're not confident that we haven't, we're not confident that we have reached that sufficiently restrictive plateau," which has kept global markets at a cautious stance.