WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Reaction of crypto markets to the Fed's decision to hold rates steady has been broadly bearish in tone. The dissent from three members who were not in favor of communicating a bias toward easing in the FOMC statement at this time also swayed market sentiment significantly. Amidst the hawkish tilt, overall cryptocurrency market capitalization has decreased more than 2 percent in the past 24 hours.
While the Fed's decision was on expected lines, the indications of a widely divided Fed has spooked market sentiment. While eight members of the FOMC including the Fed Chair voted for the action, four have voted against the action. Among the four who dissented, one member preferred to lower rates by a quarter percentage point at this meeting while three did not support the inclusion of an easing bias in the statement at this time, However, they supported maintaining the target range for the federal funds rate.
Ten-year bond yields in the U.S. which had closed at 4.354 percent on Tuesday touched a high of 4.434 percent on Wednesday and is currently trading at 4.398 percent. The six-currency Dollar Index which had closed at 98.64 on Tuesday touched a high of 99.05 on Wednesday and is currently trading at 98.68.
After the Fed's decision to hold rates steady which would result in interest rates remaining higher for longer, all eyes are on the Bank of England as well as the European Central Bank. Both the banks are expected to hold rates steady amidst anxiety about the energy price shock and fuel-led inflationary spiral. Crude oil prices are currently hovering near a four-year high as U.S.-Iran tensions remain high.
The CoinMarketCap's Fear and Greed Index that measures the sentiment in the crypto market is currently at 39 which denotes a sentiment of fear.
The bearish sentiment in the markets is reflected in the 24-hour liquidation statistics as well. The 24-hour liquidation statistics from Coinglass reveals long positions far exceeding short positions. Crypto liquidations - forced closure of a trader's leveraged position by an exchange or lending protocol for insufficient funds (margin or collateral) to cover potential losses - in the past 24 hours stood at $490 million, comprising long positions of $377 million and short positions of $114 million.
Spooked by the hawkish dissent within the Federal Reserve, overall crypto market capitalization has shed more than 2 percent in the past 24 hours to $2.54 trillion. The 24-hour trading volume has however gained more than 14 percent to $139 billion. Only 5 of the top 100 cryptocurrencies are trading with overnight gains of more than a percent whereas around 70 are trading with overnight losses of more than a percent. Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency is trading 2.2 percent lower at $76,049.94. The current price is around 40 percent below the all-time high of $126,198.07 recorded on October 7, 2025. The original cryptocurrency has lost 1.8 percent in the past week, lifting year-to-date losses to 13.1 percent.
Bitcoin Spot ETF products in the U.S. witnessed net outflows increasing to $138 million on Wednesday from $90 million on Tuesday. iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) topped with net outflows of $55 million. Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT) however recorded net inflows of $10.8 million.
Bitcoin is continuing in the 12th position in the global ranking of all assets as per market capitalization published by companiesmarketcap.com. Meta Platforms (META) is ranked 11th whereas Tesla (TSLA) is ranked 13th.
Ethereum (ETH) has plunged 3.3 percent overnight as it traded at $2,261.60. The leading alternate coin is trading 54 percent below the all-time-high of $4,953.73 recorded on August 25, 2025.
Ethereum Spot ETF products in the U.S. witnessed net outflows increasing to $88 million on Wednesday from $22 million on Tuesday. Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH) topped with outflows of $48 million followed by iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) that recorded net outflows of $37 million.
Meanwhile, Ethereum has slipped three notches to the 64th rank in the global ranking of all assets as per market capitalization published by companiesmarketcap.com.
Bitcoin's crypto market dominance is currently at 59.87 percent. At the same time, Ethereum's share of the of the crypto market is 10.72 percent. Amidst the risk aversion, stablecoins account for 12.65 percent of the overall crypto market.
4th ranked XRP (XRP) dropped 2.3 percent overnight and is currently trading at $1.37, around 64 percent below the all-time high of $3.84 touched on January 4, 2018.
5th ranked BNB (BNB) lost 2 percent overnight resulting in price decreasing to $616.00. BNB is trading 55 percent below the all-time high of $1,370.55 touched on October 13, 2025.
The price of 7th ranked Solana (SOL) decreased 2.8 percent overnight to $82.99. SOL's current price is around 72 percent below its all-time-high of $294.33 recorded on January 19, 2025.
TRON (TRX) ranked 8th overall rallied 0.88 percent overnight and is currently changing hands at $0.3259. The trading price is 26 percent below the cryptocurrency's all-time high of $0.4407 recorded on December 4, 2024.
9th ranked Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 2.9 percent overnight and is currently trading at $0.1067. DOGE is trading 86 percent below the peak price of $0.7376 recorded on May 8, 2021.
10th ranked Hyperliquid (HYPE) dropped 3.9 percent in the past 24 hours. HYPE is trading at $39.10, around 33 percent below the all-time high of $59.39 recorded on September 18, 2025.
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