Goldman Sachs Jumps on Rate Hike Bandwagon, Bitcoin Takes a Pass

Goldman Sachs's Federal Reserve forecast underwent a dramatic reversal in just four days, sending shockwaves through Bitcoin and XRP markets. The bank initially predicted a single isolated rate hike but later changed its mind, anticipating another increase as soon as October.

The catalyst for this shift was the Federal Reserve's September 16 FOMC meeting, where it raised its target interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75%-4.00%, marking the first rate increase since 2023.

Going into the meeting, Goldman's base case was relatively tame, expecting a 25-basis-point hike but characterizing it as an isolated recalibration rather than the start of a new tightening cycle.

However, after the Fed released its dot plot, which showed 16 out of 18 policymakers anticipating at least one additional rate increase before year-end, Goldman responded by scrapping its isolation thesis and pivoting to forecast another hike in October.