Bitcoin Edges up After Trump Says He Won’t Fire Powell

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that his administration is not planning on firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, despite rumors claiming otherwise.

Trump Softens Stance on Powell, Bitcoin Climbs

Bitcoin ( BTC) reclaimed $119K on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump shut down rumors that his was on the verge of firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Reporting from CNBC claims that an unnamed White House official confirmed on Tuesday that the president, after consulting with a group of Republican lawmakers, made a verbal commitment to get rid of Powell for being overly hawkish.

Trump has launched multiple public attacks on the Fed chair, criticizing him for dragging his feet and costing the country “one trillion dollars a year” in national debt payments by maintaining the target interest rate between 4.25% and 4.50% instead of slashing it by three points.

But despite the Tuesday rumor, and Trump’s public criticism of Powell, the president took a softer stance on Wednesday. “We’re not planning on doing it,” Trump said after being questioned about his alleged plan to sack the Fed chair, before adding a caveat. “I won’t rule anything out.”

Overview of Market Metrics

Bitcoin was trading at $118,946.51 at the time of writing, up 1.95% over 24 hours. The digital asset has been trading between $116,241.60 and $119,929.93 since yesterday and has jumped 7.74% over seven days.

( BTC price / Tradingview) Trading volume for the past 24 hours is down 22.42% at $71.07 billion. BTC’s market capitalization has climbed 2.23% over the same period, reaching $2.38 trillion at the time of reporting, according to Coinmarketcap. BTC dominance fell to 63.42% from 64.05% yesterday.

Total open interest for BTC futures rose 2.27% over 24 hours, reaching $87.63 billion, according to Coinglass. Bitcoin liquidations reached a total of $54.91 million for the day. Bears with short positions had $42.05 million wiped out, and longs had a smaller $12.86 million in liquidations.