Crypto news today: FOMC, Base plans, U.K. stablecoin, and more

Key Takeaways

What are the top crypto headlines in the past 48 hours? 

Altcoins retraced part of last week’s gains ahead of the FOMC meeting on the 17th of September. Base has unveiled plans to integrate Solana and launch a token. 

What should you expect post-FOMC meeting?

Analysts projected BTC could reclaim $120K in case of a dovish Fed rate cut. However, a cautious tone could drag it to $105K-$100K. 

The crypto market consolidated ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting this week.

Bitcoin [BTC] held above $115K, but altcoins retraced despite the market consensus of a 25 basis point (bps) Fed rate cut. 

Notably, Ethereum [ETH] dropped 5% from nearly $4.8K to $4.5K after last week’s rally. Ripple [XRP] was barely holding $3.

Solana [SOL], on the other hand, slipped 7% from $249 to $230 before reclaiming $235 at press time. 

Despite derisking across altcoins, the overall market was at a ‘neutral’ level per the crypto fear and greed index ahead of the Fed rate decision. 

Matt Mena, crypto strategist at 21Shares, told AMBCrypto, 

“A 25bps cut is already in the price, but a surprise 50bps would likely act as the spark for a renewed leg higher. The odds may be small, but the risk-reward skew is asymmetric for Bitcoin.”

For his part, Shawn Young, chief analyst at crypto exchange MEXC, said that in a bullish scenario, the FOMC meeting could push BTC to reclaim the $120K-$125K price range.

“Investors could rotate out of bonds and traditional investment vehicles into riskier assets to capture further upside.”

Fundstrat’s Tom Lee also projected a ‘monster move in the next 3 months’ for BTC and ETH. 

But Young and Farzam Ehsani, CEO of Africa’s crypto exchange VALR, warned that a bearish or cautious tone during the meeting could drag BTC lower to $105K-$100K. 

Still, BTC would thrive in the long-term, added Ehsani, citing ‘weakening dollar’ and fiscal debt

Base’s Solana, token plans

Another key update was that the Coinbase-incubated Ethereum L2 Base will set up a Solana bridge in a few days. 

According to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, the move would enhance interoperability and mass crypto adoption, 

“Interoperability will improve usability (the biggest barrier to getting to 1B daily active users of crypto IMO).”

The CEO also said that Base was exploring launching a token to boost developers and builders, marking a complete U-turn from a pledge made last year.

In 2024, Base said that starting without a token allowed them to ‘focus on solving real problems.’

But Armstrong noted that the token plan is ‘not definitive,’ but it would help builders. 

“We’re exploring a Base network token. To be clear, there are no definitive plans. As of now, we’re exploring it.”

The community reaction was mixed. Some stated that it would be bearish for ETH, while others called for clarifications about how Coinbase’s COIN stockholders would benefit from the Base token. 

U.K. stablecoin limits spark backlash

Finally, the Bank of England intends to impose a stablecoin ownership limit of £10K-£20K for individuals and £20 million for businesses. 

This proposal, first floated in 2023, has sparked criticism, with crypto advocacy groups stating it will make the U.K.’s stance more strict compared to the U.S. or the E.U., per a Financial Times report. 

Simon Jennings, executive director of the U.K. Cryptoasset Business Council (a trade body), deemed the proposals impractical, adding that they would be costly to implement. 

For his part, Tom Duff Gordon, VP international policy at Coinbase, said the move was ‘bad’ for the U.K. users. 

“Imposing caps on stablecoins is bad for UK savers, bad for the City, and bad for sterling. No other major jurisdiction has deemed it necessary to impose caps.”