Bitcoin near $76,000 as Fed hikes rates; hawkish tone and $592 million ETF outflows pressure crypto

Bitcoin traded near the $76,000 mark after the Fed delivered a 25 basis point rate hike for the first time since 2023 and ETF demand also weakened sharply, with Bitcoin and Ethereum funds seeing combined outflows of nearly $592 million in a single day. The cryptocurrency was trading at $76,431.

In the past 24 hours, Bitcoin was up 0.74% and Ethereum was up 1.44% to trade at $2,436. Among the major altcoins, BNB, XRP, Solana, Tron, Hyperliquid, Dogecoin, Cardano gained upto 3.75%.

Prateek Gupta, Head of Business, Mudrex said the BTC initially rallied but gave up those gains as Fed Chair Kevin Warsh struck a hawkish tone, suggesting more tightening may follow. ETF demand also weakened sharply, with Bitcoin and Ethereum funds seeing combined outflows of nearly $592 million in a single day.


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He further said crypto policy saw a positive development, with a bill to codify Trump’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve advancing through a House committee as the CLARITY Act failed.

The global crypto market capitalisation was up 1.45% to $2.62 trillion, according to Coinmarketcap. The crypto market’s reaction to the Fed’s 25 bps rate hike is an important signal in itself. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and several major digital assets are holding firm and trading higher even after the Fed moved rates to 3.75%–4%. That tells us the market had largely priced in the decision and is now looking beyond the hike towards the trajectory of monetary policy, said Avinash Shekhar, Co-Founder & CEO, Pi42.

Over the last week, Bitcoin and Ethereum were down 1.94% and 1.29% respectively. Among the major altcoins, XRP, Solana, Tron, Hyperliquid, Dogecoin, and Cardano corrected upto 6.01% whereas BNB was up 1.18%.

Riya Sehgal, Research Analyst, Delta Exchange said crypto markets have moved into a recovery phase after a highly volatile Federal Reserve session, but the broader technical structure still remains cautious.

The main takeaway is that crypto has absorbed the initial hawkish Fed shock relatively well, but the market is still in a post-event stabilisation phase rather than a clear bullish breakout. The next directional signal will depend on whether Bitcoin and Ether can reclaim these nearby resistance zones while the dollar, bond yields and broader macro conditions remain firm, Sehgal further said.

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Market perspective

CoinSwitch Markets Desk: BTC is trading around $76.2K after a volatile week. BTC is down roughly 3% over the past seven days after failing to hold $80K, due to the failed CLARITY Act vote and the Fed’s 25 bps rate hike.

Nischal Shetty, founder, WazirX: Bitcoin trades near $76,460 in a mildly constructive daily structure, with RSI around 52 and the broader signal on Buy. Immediate support lies near $75,800-$76,200, while $76,900-$77,100 forms resistance. Holding support could preserve momentum; losing it may expose the secondary $73,600-$74,000 zone.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)