Ethereum, Solana lead crypto market surge after Fed Chair Powell hints rate cut could come soon

The Block

Aug 23, 2025 01:17:15

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TradFi and crypto markets received a major boost on Friday morning as the leader of the U.S. Federal Reserve gave his strongest suggestion yet of an interest rate cut next month.

Speaking at the central bank's annual Jackson Hole summit in Wyoming, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said "the balance of risks appears to be shifting... [which] may warrant adjusting our policy stance."

Ethereum led the crypto markets higher, trading up 11.4% to $4,743 at the time of publication. Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, was up a more modest 3.5% to reclaim the $116,000 level.

Meanwhile, Solana and Dogecoin both jumped up 8% as XRP and BNB ticked up about 5%. Rounding out the top 10 non-stablecoin tokens by market cap, TRX was up about 3% at publication time, according to The Block's price data.

Crypto tends to outperform when interest rates are lowered because reduced rates encourage investors to seek higher returns through riskier assets.

“Stocks are surging and the yield curve is plunging as Chair Powell points to potential rate cuts around the corner,” José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, told CNN. The Fed has held its benchmark borrowing rate between 4.25%-4.5% since December.

Powell seems to have addressed President Donald Trump's calls to lower rates. “FOMC members will make these decisions, based solely on their assessment of the data and its implications for the economic outlook and the balance of risks. We will never deviate from that approach,” Powell said, noting that there are potential downside risks from Trump's aggressive tariff policies.

In the end, Powell reaffirmed the Fed's longstanding target of achieving 2% inflation, noting there was nothing "intentional or moderate" about the high inflation following the coronavirus pandemic. “We believe that our commitment to this target is a key factor helping keep longer-term inflation expectations well anchored,” Powell said, reiterating that the central bank wrongfully assumed those raised levels would be "transitory."

On the equity front, Ethereum treasury Sharplink (ticker SBET) and Bitemine (BMNR) surged nearly 13%. Strategy (MSTR) ticked up about 4.5%, while Coinbase (COIN) and Circle (CRCL) gained over 7% as of press time. Leading crypto mining stocks such as MARA and Riot Platforms also gained more than 6% on the day, according to The Block's price data.

Similarly, ETHA the largest Ethereum ETFs issued by BlackRock is up over 12% while the firm's iShares Bitcoin Trust is edging close to 4%, according to The Block's data.

The Global Markets Complexity Index (GMCI), a weighted benchmark over 30 crypto assets, is up 7.17%, according to The Block.

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