The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted eight to four in favor of keeping the rate in the 3.5-3.75% range, writes forklog.com.
The regulator pointed to persistent inflationary pressures due to rising global energy prices and warned that the situation in the Middle East creates a “high level of uncertainty” for the outlook.
Bitcoin fell from around $76,200 to levels around $75,000 in the first hour after the decision was published, before rebounding to $75,760.
At the time of writing, it is trading at $75,525.
Ethereum, Solana and XRP continued the decline that began earlier in the day.
Rate hikes were almost entirely priced in: the CME FedWatch tool the day before was showing an almost 100 percent probability of a pause. A number of analysts believe that the Fed’s decision now is not the main driver of the price of digital gold.
“The most important catalyst for bitcoin right now is not the FOMC, but the CLARITY Act,” Iggy Ioppe chief investment officer at Theo said in a conversation with The Block.
According to him, the bill makes the infrastructure around bitcoin more convenient for banks. It formalizes the first cryptocurrency’s status as a commodity under the CFTC’s jurisdiction, removing the risk of excessive SEC intervention and giving banks the ability to hold the asset without excessive capital requirements.
The bill is making its way through Congress, but controversial provisions – in particular, regulations on stablecoins and ethical issues – are stalling its passage.
The analyst also drew attention to the upcoming reports of the “Magnificent Seven” companies – Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft – as a short-term factor for risky assets, including bitcoin.
