FRBNY President John Williams Sees 'Room for Further Adjustment'

Market participants now see a 70% chance for a rate cut at the next Fed meeting, sharply up from 39% just a day ago, helping bitcoin pare some of the overnight losses. Bitcoin BTC $85,126.34 staged a modest rebound in morning U.S. hours Friday after a 10% selloff overnight as the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate cut in December jumped sharply following dovish remarks from New York Fed President John Williams.

“I still see room for a further adjustment in the near term to the target range for the federal-funds rate to move the stance of policy closer to the range of neutral,” Williams told the WSJ. “Looking ahead, it is imperative to restore inflation to our 2% longer-run goal on a sustained basis. It is equally important to do so without creating undue risks to our maximum employment goal.”

Williams' comments stand in stark contrast to those of leading Fed hawk, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, who yesterday more or less brushed off any labor market worry, instead choosing to focus on inflation and what she believes is a bubbly stock market. Williams' remarks had an immediate effect, sending the price of bitcoin from about $81,000 to back above $84,000. At press time, it was trading around $83,500, still down 9.5% over the past 24 hours. Nasdaq 100 futures also moved to a 0.35% gain versus about flat prior to the remarks.

Context: Traders reassessed the near-term trajectory of monetary policy as Williams signaled potential room for policy adjustment, while the broader market weighed labor-market signals alongside inflation dynamics.

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CoinDesk CoinDesk — 2025-11-21

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