Bitcoin rises and memecoin supercycle draws attention ahead of the US FOMC minutes

- Bitcoin Rises Ahead of U.S. FOMC Minutes, Approaches $64K Before Correction - Memecoin Supercycle Craze [Unblock Media] The current rise in Bitcoin is occurring at a critical juncture with the upcoming release of the U.S. Federal Reserve's (Fed) Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes and the release of August economic indicators. This data can significantly influence the Fed's interest rate policy, which in turn will be an important factor for the investment sentiment towards Bitcoin, a risky asset. In addition, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release the annual rates for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) for September, as well as the weekly initial jobless claims ending October 5. These indicators track the overall growth status of the economy, and any changes in interest rates derived from them could directly affect Bitcoin prices. While an indication of rate hikes could negatively impact risky assets like Bitcoin, a greater likelihood of rate holds or cuts could spur further increases. Meanwhile, Asian stock markets saw a significant rise on Monday. The tech-focused Hang Seng Index increased by 3%, and South Korea's KOSPI Index rose by 1%. The People's Bank of China, the central bank of China, announced several economic stimulus measures, including large-scale infrastructure investments and small business support programs, boosting regional investment sentiment. Moreover, the growth of social sentiment and artificial intelligence (AI) tokens has driven the rise of medium-sized tokens. Bittensor's TAO rose by 14%, AI tokens overall increased by 7.5%, and both NEAR and Internet Computer (ICP) continued to show an upward trend. On the other hand, with the volatility of major coins decreasing and a growing negative sentiment towards venture capital-supported tokens, interest in memecoins soared over the weekend. Memecoins were heavily influenced by social sentiment and risk preferences among investors, and the concept of a 'memecoin supercycle' garnered particular attention. Among the memecoins, Solana-based popcat (POPCAT) and Ethereum-based mog (MOG) rose by more than 12% in the past 24 hours, while the BNB chain-based simon’s cat (CAT) increased by 10%. Small tokens such as GIGA, SPX6900, and Fwog also saw surges of more than 20%. Cat-themed memecoins are gaining more attention than dog-themed ones and are preferred even in high-risk memecoin bets. The recent rise in interest in memecoins has emerged as utility tokens, a more serious sector of the cryptocurrency market, experience low market volatility. Utility tokens derive their value from long-term usability and the actual performance of their projects, whereas memecoins are primarily driven by trends, social sentiment, and investor psychology. Particularly, utility tokens backed by venture capital have increasingly been perceived by retail investors as overpriced and poor investments, which has led to a relative shift in demand towards memecoins.