Bitcoin, Ethereum skyrocket after Jerome Powell's surprising speech

Bitcoin and Ethereum began to rally after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivered a much-awaited speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Aug. 22.

During the speech, Powell hinted at a possible cut in interest rates in September but didn't deliver any definitive promise.

"The stability of the unemployment rate and other labor market measures allows us to proceed carefully as we consider changes to our policy stance. Nonetheless, with policy in restrictive territory, the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance."

Bitcoin, which had been undergoing a rather slow week, skyrocketed above $116,000 as it surged more than 2% in an hour.

Ethereum went ahead and rose more than 5% in an hour to surpass the $4,600 price mark.

As per the on-chain analytics platform Coinglass, more than $206 million in crypto short positions got liquidated within the last hour as traders betting on low prices to continue began to liquidate their positions as soon as the market rally began.Source: Coinglass

ETH led the charge, with more than $125 million in short positions getting liquidated during the past hour. BTC saw more than $38 million in short positions getting wiped out.

Short positions worth around $8 million in Solana, $4 million in XRP, and $3 million in Dogecoin also got wiped out during the last hour.

SOL, XRP, and DOGE rose 5%, 5%, and 7% to trade at $192.15, $3.01, and $0.2293.

If the Fed indeed slashes interest rates the next month, a massive rally in the crypto market is anticipated.

This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Aug 22, 2025, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.