escalate

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The Bitcoin and cryptocurrency market is facing heightened volatility as U.S. President Donald Trump escalates his battle with the Federal Reserve.

Trump’s unprecedented move to ‘fire’ Fed Governor Lisa Cook, paired with growing friction with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, has rattled investor confidence and triggered a broad sell-off in risk assets, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The Trump – Powell Fallout

Markets had initially welcomed Powell’s dovish hints at the Jackson Hole symposium, where he suggested the Fed may be closer to easing its restrictive monetary policy.

However, optimism quickly faded as Trump pressed for more aggressive rate cuts and attempted to remove a sitting Fed governor, an act widely seen as undermining central bank independence.

The fallout was immediate. Bitcoin (BTC), which had surged past $117,000 after Powell’s remarks, dropped below the key $111,000 level and is now trading more than 12% off its mid-August all-time high.

BTC’s price trends to the downside on the daily chart. Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview

Ethereum (ETH) slid over 5% overnight, with other leading cryptocurrencies like Solana (SOL), XRP, and Dogecoin (DOGE) also posting steep losses.

Bitcoin Reacts to Uncertainty

The total crypto market capitalization has fallen 2.48% to $3.79 trillion, while trading volume spiked 67% to $220 billion, signaling frantic repositioning by traders. Nearly $900 million in leveraged positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours, amplifying the downturn.

Bitcoin’s dominance has slipped to 57.5%, with Ethereum’s share rising slightly to 14.4% as ETF flows diverged. U.S. Bitcoin Spot ETFs saw $23 million in net outflows on Friday, led by iShares Bitcoin Trust, while Ethereum Spot ETFs recorded $338 million in inflows, highlighting shifting investor sentiment.

Altcoins were not spared. BNB, Cardano, and TRON all posted overnight declines of 3–4%, while meme favorite Dogecoin slumped nearly 5%. A few tokens bucked the trend, HyperLiquid (HYPE) gained 2.6%, and VeChain (VET) climbed 3.6%, but most of the top 100 coins bled heavily.

What’s Next for Bitcoin and the Fed?

Analysts warn that political interference at the Fed could further destabilize markets. Prediction markets currently give just a 9% chance of Powell being ousted in 2025, but Trump’s actions have raised legal and institutional concerns.

If Trump succeeds in reshaping the Fed to favor easier policy, risk assets like Bitcoin could benefit longer term from looser liquidity. For now, traders are focused on key technical levels. Bitcoin must reclaim the $111K–$112K zone to avoid a deeper slide toward $100K.

Cover image from ChatGPT, BTCUSD chart from Tradingview

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Less than a week after 18 protesters associated with activist group No Azure for Apartheid were arrested while protesting Microsoft’s dealings with the Israeli military, the group has staged a sit-in inside the office of Microsoft president Brad Smith. A report by The Verge says the building was subsequently locked down.

The protesters recorded at least two videos from inside Microsoft’s Building 34, including one showing what appears to be security attempting to remove them, and posted them to Twitch, but they were quickly deleted.

No Azure for Apartheid said protesters also deployed noisemakers attached to balloons prior to the sit-in, and posted notices reading, “The People’s Court Summons Bradford Lee Smith on Charges of Crimes Against Humanity.”

Two banners were also hung inside Building 34, one declaring it renamed to “Mai Ubeid Building” and another repeating No Azure for Apartheid’s demands:

Cut Ties with Israel
Call for an End to the Genocide and Forced Starvation
Pay Reparations to the Palestinians
End the Discrimination Against Workers

Current and former Microsoft workers are supporting the sit-in with a rally being held outside, during which copies of the document “We will not be cogs in the Israeli genocidal machine: a call for a Worker Intifada” were distributed. An 18-foot scroll displaying the signatures of more than 2,000 people who have signed No Azure for Apartheid’s online petition was also displayed.

The occupation of Smith’s office represents a significant escalation over previous protests, which began earlier this year with individual employees disrupting Microsoft’s 50th anniversary event and Build conference. Earlier this month, protesters set up an encampment in Microsoft’s East Campus Plaza, which was dispersed by police; the group returned the following day, and police subsequently arrested 18 protesters.

Microsoft has thus far refused to engage with the protesters but they seem to be having an impact, as pressure on the company to end its work with the Israeli government is growing. A group of Microsoft shareholders have demanded a report into the company’s “human rights due diligence” over allegations of war crime complicity in Gaza and some employees of Microsoft-owned studio Arkane Lyon have also called on the company to stop supporting the Israeli government. The BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanctions) movement has called for a boycott of Microsoft’s products due to its dealings with Israel.

A recent report by The Guardian has alleged that Israel is using Microsoft’s cloud services for mass surveillance of Palestinians. Microsoft has said that it’s “pursuing a thorough and independent review of new allegations first reported earlier this month about the purported use of its Azure platform in Israel.”

We’ve reached out to Microsoft for comment and will update if we receive a reply.

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Bitcoin And Crypto In Turmoil As Tensions Between Trump and Powell Escalate

The Trump – Powell Fallout

Bitcoin Reacts to Uncertainty

What’s Next for Bitcoin and the Fed?

Protestors occupy Microsoft president’s office as opposition to the company’s dealings with the Israeli military continue to escalate