Friday Bid Lifts Bitcoin and Ether to Fresh Multi-Week Highs

Bitcoin and Ether Lifted by Fed Rate-Cut Expectations

Bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) rallied late Friday, reclaiming ground after a week dominated by altcoin gains. BTC rose 2% to $116,600, while ETH jumped 5% to $4,650, marking their highest levels since mid-August volatility sparked by Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole address.

At Jackson Hole, Powell unexpectedly adopted a more dovish tone, emphasizing labor market weakness over persistent inflation. Traders quickly priced in a September rate cut, leaving only the exact size — 25 or 50 basis points — undecided.

Following the speech, BTC climbed from roughly $112,000 to over $117,000, while ETH surged more than 16% in under 48 hours, briefly approaching $5,000. The rally later reversed, with BTC falling to $107,000 and ETH returning near pre-speech levels by late August.

Next week’s Fed meeting is widely expected to deliver the first rate cut in a year, trimming the benchmark funds rate by 25 basis points to a 4.00%–4.25% range. Meanwhile, altcoins such as solana (SOL) and dogecoin (DOGE) have led recent market action, rising 17% and 25% over the past week amid ETF anticipation and newly formed crypto treasury activity.