Federal Reserve cuts rates by 25 bps to 3.50%-3.75%, signals limited future easing as Bitcoin briefly tops $94,000

The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 3.50%-3.75% on December 11 at 3:00 a.m. Beijing time, marking a third consecutive cut and bringing cumulative easing this year to 75 basis points, BlockBeats reports. The Fed's dot plot projects one 25-basis-point cut in both 2026 and 2027, while officials appear more concerned about inflation and labor market dynamics with limited appetite for near-term easing amid internal divisions, according to "Fed whisperer" Nick Timiraos. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the labor market is gradually cooling but inflation remains somewhat elevated with upside risks, while September data showed unemployment ticked up alongside slowing job growth. Goldman Sachs analyst Kay Haigh said the Fed has likely reached the end of its "pre-emptive easing" phase and argued further labor market weakness would be needed to justify additional loosening, while Bitcoin briefly broke above $94,000 after Powell's remarks before pulling back to $91,918 at press time.