Over two and a half years since embarking on a historic monetary tightening campaign, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is now expected to hint at an impending shift towards easing. Powell’s highly anticipated address at the Kansas City Fed’s Jackson Hole Economic Symposium is slated for Friday at 10 a.m. ET—a platform where past Fed leaders, including Powell himself, have often signaled pivotal changes in central bank policy.

As is often the case, markets have anticipated the Fed’s moves, with traders having already factored in a 100% probability of at least a 25 basis point rate cut at the bank’s September meeting. The release of the FOMC minutes from the Fed’s July policy meeting yesterday likely stole some of tomorrow’s thunder, revealing that the “vast majority” of participants viewed a September rate cut as likely appropriate.

While most expect Powell to confirm the September cut, it’s also anticipated that he will strike a cautious tone regarding future policy easing. Specifically, he may signal that the Fed will likely trim rates by only 25 basis points at the upcoming September meeting and warn markets not to anticipate a series of consecutive rate cuts in the following months.

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Traditional Markets Rally While Bitcoin Falters

Despite a notable dip from mid-July to early August, U.S. stock markets have largely remained bullish in the lead-up to the anticipated easing cycle. The S&P 500 hovers just 1% below its record high set in early July, while the Nasdaq is approximately 4% off its peak. Gold has also surged, reaching an all-time high of $2,566 earlier this week.

Bond markets are riding the wave of optimism as well, with the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note dropping to a multi-year low of 3.77% yesterday.

Bitcoin (BTC), on the other hand, has struggled to gain momentum. Although it recovered somewhat from the early August panic that briefly pushed prices below $50,000, Bitcoin remains stuck at around $60,800—far from its all-time high of roughly $73,500 achieved back in March.

The world’s most prominent cryptocurrency has seemingly overlooked other positive developments, such as increasing institutional interest and sustained inflows into spot ETFs. Additionally, this week brought potentially favorable regulatory news: ABC News reported that crypto-friendly Robert Kennedy Jr. might exit the presidential race on Friday and endorse the pro-crypto GOP candidate Donald Trump. On the Democratic front, a senior Kamala Harris campaign official hinted that a Harris administration could be more favorable to the crypto industry than the current Biden administration.