U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell has just delivered notable policy messages regarding the monetary outlook in the coming period. The head of the Fed emphasized that it may need to continue raising interest rates to rein in inflation driven by both supply- and demand-side factors, while also stating that rate adjustments should be made sooner and gradually rather than late—so as to avoid having to intervene with strong measures.

This direction indicates that the Fed still maintains a cautious stance and is not complacent in the face of prolonged inflation pressure. Instead of waiting for the market to send signals too late, the Fed wants to proactively anticipate risks through controlled, incremental rate hikes—thereby minimizing the risk of shocks to the economy while at the same time dampening expectations of an early easing of policy.

For traditional financial markets, this hawkish message provides substantial support for the U.S. dollar (USD) and increases pressure on yields of U.S. Treasury bonds. The stock market overall will likely have to contend with a longer-than-expected environment of high cost of capital, which will temper the enthusiasm of speculative capital flows.

The crypto market—and especially $BTC n—will likely face liquidity pressure in the short term as capital remains cautious. However, the Fed’s choice to increase rates gradually rather than abruptly will help reduce the risk of extreme volatility, giving long-term investors more room to proactively rebalance their portfolios.

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