Grayscale: Fed rate hike delay could trigger BTC rally

Zach Pandl, head of research at Grayscale, has suggested that Bitcoin (BTC) could rally if the Federal Reserve delays its interest rate hikes. He noted that while U.S. stocks have climbed 9% since the conflict in Iran began in late February, BTC has fallen 1% and gold has dropped 20%. Pandl explained that this relative underperformance from BTC and gold is due to the market pricing in the possibility of a Fed rate hike. He added that Grayscale's base case scenario is for the Fed to postpone any hikes. If this outlook proves correct, Pandl believes BTC's price could catch up to the gains seen in the U.S. stock market. He also described BTC as both a scarce digital asset serving as a long-term store of value and an investment vehicle for the growth of the cryptocurrency industry. Should the likelihood of a rate hike decrease, BTC would have a strong chance of matching stock market returns, he concluded.