The Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates steady and signal a cautious stance on future rate cuts triggered a broad selloff in U.S. stock markets. Surprisingly, however, cryptocurrencies bucked the trend, posting gains across the board.
On Thursday, Bitcoin was trading at $100,414, up 3.05% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap, a leading cryptocurrency tracking platform.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, climbed 2.08% to $3,135. XRP, ranked third, saw a 1.07% increase to $3.09, while Solana, the fifth-largest crypto asset, surged 2.27% to $230.
Following the announcement of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, cryptocurrencies initially experienced a sharp downturn. The initial selloff was triggered by the Fed’s removal of language from its statement that had previously suggested progress toward its 2% inflation target. Instead, the central bank indicated that inflation remains somewhat elevated.
This subtle acknowledgment of stalled progress on inflation stoked fears that the Fed may delay interest rate cuts, leading to the initial drop in cryptocurrency prices.
However, the market quickly reversed course when Fed Chair Jerome Powell clarified during a press conference that the change in language regarding inflation was not intended to send any specific message to the markets.