Bitcoin price, equity markets gyrate after U.S. Fed's interest rate decision
Quick Take
- Bitcoin was trading around $19,500 at the time of writing on Wednesday, while ether was within the range of $1,400.
- Directly after the Fed’s decision to increase interest rates by 75 basis points stocks and cryptocurrencies plummeted in value.
Crypto markets fell on Wednesday following the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to increase interest rates by 75 basis points.
Bitcoin was trading at $19,510 on Coinbase, down about over 1% in the last hour, according to data from the exchange.
The leading cryptocurrency by market cap appeared to have hit a brick wall at 6:00 pm UTC as the Fed issued its statement. The Fed is committed to taking "forceful and rapid steps to moderate demand," chair Jerome Powell stressed during a press conference following the announcement.
Meanwhile, ether behaved much the same way, crashing from about $1,393 to $1,316 directly after the announcement. At the time of writing Ethereum's native token was trading around $1,365.
RELATED INDICES
By and large, most cryptocurrencies had a similar reaction following the announcement as digital assets continue to be highly correlated to equities and sensitive to major macroeconomic events.
The Nasdaq composite reacted similarly to the crypto market, plunging from around $11,962 to $11,724, per data via TradingView.
At press time, the index was trading back above $11,900.
Elsewhere, the S&P and the Dow Jones industrial index reacted similarly to the news, before recovering back above daily lows.
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