Bitcoin slid to around $64,100 on Thursday after Kevin Warsh, the newly appointed Federal Reserve governor, struck a hawkish tone in his first public remarks since taking office. The drop, which erased gains from earlier in the week, pushed the largest cryptocurrency toward its lowest level in over a month.
Warsh's debut spooks risk assets
Warsh, speaking at an economic forum in New York, signaled that the Fed would prioritize inflation control over growth — language traders took as a sign that interest rates could stay higher for longer. Crypto, which has traded sensitive to rate expectations all year, reacted quickly. Within hours of the speech, Bitcoin had shed roughly $2,000 from its pre-speak level near $66,000.
The move wasn't isolated: equities and long-duration bonds also dipped. But the selloff in crypto was sharper, a reminder that digital assets remain the most rate-sensitive corner of the market.
The $60,000 floor argument
Despite the slide, several analysts argue that a floor exists around $60,000. The logic: large holders — so-called whales — have been accumulating on dips below that level for months, and on-chain data shows a cluster of buy orders stacked between $59,500 and $60,500. One analyst described it as a “brick wall” of demand that would take a major macro shock to break.
Whether that wall holds depends on whether Warsh's hawkishness is a one-off or the start of a sustained shift at the Fed. The central bank's next meeting is in late July, and no one is expecting a rate cut now.
What could spark a rebound
Even with the price under pressure, analysts point to several catalysts that could reverse the trend. A clear break above $68,000 — a level that has acted as resistance since late May — would signal that buyers are back. Farther out, the potential approval of a spot Ether ETF in the coming weeks could lift the whole market, as Bitcoin often follows Ethereum's lead on regulatory news.
There's also the simply cyclical argument: July has historically been a strong month for Bitcoin, with average gains of more than 8% over the past five years. If the pattern holds, today's dip might look like a buying opportunity in hindsight — but that's a big if.
The next real test comes Friday, when monthly options expire. Around $1.5 billion in Bitcoin options are set to roll off, and the max pain point — the price where the largest number of contracts expire worthless — sits at $65,000. That could pin prices near current levels into the close. If Bitcoin can't reclaim $65,000 by then, the $60,000 floor may get tested sooner rather than later.
