The boost from Jay Powell’s rate-cut message has faded, leading to a retreat in the crypto market. Bitcoin is down 9% for August. • Bitcoin prices (BTCUSD) fell below $60,000 late Tuesday, down from a session high of $63,000, and continued to trade below that level early Wednesday. The drop appears to be driven by profit-taking following recent positive comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell. Last week, Powell indicated at the Jackson Hole forum that interest rate cuts are expected in September. Bitcoin’s price is becoming increasingly sensitive to interest rate fluctuations. • With this recent decline, Bitcoin has deepened its monthly losses. The leading digital asset began August trading at $65,000 per coin. Currently, traders are willing to pay around $59,000 for a single coin, marking a 9% decline for the month with just three trading days left. Since reaching a record high of over $73,000 in March, Bitcoin has experienced a seesaw pattern, alternating between monthly gains and losses. • Ethereum (ETHUSD), the second-largest cryptocurrency, is faring even worse. Its price dropped more than 10% on Tuesday, falling below $2,500 from an opening level of nearly $2,700. Ether has been hit harder than Bitcoin in the longer term, on track for its third consecutive losing month, with a total loss of 36%. This is despite the launch of nine spot Ether exchange-traded funds, which have yet to turn a net profit.