In the last few minutes, two significant developments emerged in the cryptocurrency markets. As this article was being prepared, Fed member Barkin was speaking, and FTX announced a new altcoin sale. At that moment, Bitcoin 
$99,148 had returned to $62,110, but weakness in altcoins persisted. What are the details of the recent developments?
Fed and FTX
According to information from three different sources, the FTX bankruptcy committee will auction off 22.3 million locked WLD Tokens. The tokens, valued at approximately $38 million, are expected to find buyers below their market value, with discounts predicted to range between 40% and 75%. The unlocking of these altcoins will occur gradually until 2028, with daily unlocks scheduled from December 1, 2024, to July 24, 2026. Prior to WLD, FTX had sold SOL and Metaplex (MPLX) tokens, completing a $1 billion discounted token sale in May.
FTX only holds $594 million in altcoin assets, most of which are hard to liquidate. If we consider that $541 million of this amount is in FTT Token, attempting to sell it could drive its price to zero.
Barkin’s Remarks
The second major development involved statements made by Fed member Barkin, who commented:
- The 50 basis point interest rate cut in September was necessary due to its “incompatibility” with declining inflation and unemployment rates.
- The Fed cannot declare the war on inflation over. I expect only a slight decrease in the core PCE Price Index until next year.
- I will closely monitor how low-interest rates affect housing and automobile sales to assess if demand risks outpace supply.
- Recent worker strikes and geopolitical conflicts also pose inflation risks.
- The speed and extent of the interest rate cut cycle require the Fed to pay attention to economic and inflationary developments.
- The Fed’s interest rate cuts aim to recalibrate toward a less restrictive position.
