4 Central Bank Moves That Might Fuel Bitcoin's Next Rally to $150,000 and Beyond

Key Points

When money is easier to access and cheaper to hold, risk assets usually catch a tailwind, and Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) in particular tends to be a major beneficiary.

Right now the next gusts for the coin's money-catching sails could come from four policy decisions by central banks around the world. If two or more of those central banks decide to move in the same direction, a Bitcoin move toward $150,000 becomes very feasible. Here's what's being considered and why it matters so much for this asset in the near term.

4 Central Bank Moves That Might Fuel Bitcoin's Next Rally to $150,000 and Beyond

Why central banks tend to move markets

At the crux of the central bank moves is the concept of liquidity . You can think of liquidity as how abundant and easy money is across the financial system.

When central banks cut their interest rates or slow the pace of offloading assets from their balance sheets, bank reserves and credit conditions improve, increasing liquidity, and investors are more willing to hold volatile assets. Historically, Bitcoin has tended to rise and fall with increases or decreases in the pace of global money supply growth, even if the fit is not perfect on a month-to-month basis. More practically, as a result of that tendency, the current market treats Bitcoin as a liquidity-sensitive asset that trades in line with broader risk appetite.

So here are the four policy signals that could open the taps.

First, the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates in September. In the same vein, the Fed has already slowed quantitative tightening twice, most recently trimming its monthly U.S. Treasury runoff limit to $5 billion starting on April 1, a move that directly reduces the drain on bank reserves and thus increases liquidity. Slower runoff of Treasuries means more reserves; lower policy rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding volatile assets. More cuts later this year remain a possibility, but the takeaway here is that the U.S. central bank's near-term direction is toward easier policy, which benefits Bitcoin.

The Fed isn't alone in cutting rates, though; the European Central Bank (ECB) could choose to cut its rate even further, which would be the second move that could fuel Bitcoin's rise. The ECB has already delivered multiple cuts through early 2025 as inflation slowed. The door is not shut on more easing later this year if growth cools. Additional cuts would support euro-area credit and contribute toward global liquidity conditions.

OK