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Federal Reserve Lifts Interest Rates Another 25 Basis Points

Bitcoin's price was little changed in the minutes following the announcement.

Updated May 9, 2023, 4:07 a.m. Published Feb 1, 2023, 7:03 p.m.
Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Matching market expectations, the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) hiked its benchmark federal funds rate by 25 basis points to a range of 4.5%-4.75%.

Hovering in a narrow range on either side of the $23,000 level for the past several days, the price of bitcoin (BTC) remained in that area shortly after the announcement.

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With the 25 basis point rate hike largely priced in, markets were looking for clues in the accompanying policy statement about whether the central bank was mulling a pause in its monetary tightening cycle. For now, that doesn't appear to be the case, with the FOMC saying "ongoing increases" in rates will be necessary.

Interest rate futures markets are currently pricing in a terminal fed funds rate of 4.94%, suggesting the Fed has another one or two 25 basis point rate hikes left before hitting the brakes.

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Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell will hold a post-meeting press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Bitcoin is moving higher as Powell speaks, with traders taking note of the Fed chair saying, "[the] disinflationary process has started." Powell also seemed to suggest an end to the rate hike regime was among the topics discussed at today's meeting. Alongside bitcoin – now up to $23,450 – stocks and gold have moved into the green, while interest rates and the dollar are sliding.

Updated at 20:05 UTC: Added Powell remarks market reaction.

Read more: Bitcoin Little Changed on Soft Economic Data Ahead of Fed Meeting

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Exchange Review - March 2025

Exchange Review March 2025

CoinDesk Data's monthly Exchange Review captures the key developments within the cryptocurrency exchange market. The report includes analyses that relate to exchange volumes, crypto derivatives trading, market segmentation by fees, fiat trading, and more.

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Trading activity softened in March as market uncertainty grew amid escalating tariff tensions between the U.S. and global trading partners. Centralized exchanges recorded their lowest combined trading volume since October, declining 6.24% to $6.79tn. This marked the third consecutive monthly decline across both market segments, with spot trading volume falling 14.1% to $1.98tn and derivatives trading slipping 2.56% to $4.81tn.

  • Trading Volumes Decline for Third Consecutive Month: Combined spot and derivatives trading volume on centralized exchanges fell by 6.24% to $6.79tn in March 2025, reaching the lowest level since October. Both spot and derivatives markets recorded their third consecutive monthly decline, falling 14.1% and 2.56% to $1.98tn and $4.81tn respectively.
  • Institutional Crypto Trading Volume on CME Falls 23.5%: In March, total derivatives trading volume on the CME exchange fell by 23.5% to $175bn, the lowest monthly volume since October 2024. CME's market share among derivatives exchanges dropped from 4.63% to 3.64%, suggesting declining institutional interest amid current macroeconomic conditions. 
  • Bybit Spot Market Share Slides in March: Spot trading volume on Bybit fell by 52.1% to $81.1bn in March, coinciding with decreased trading activity following the hack of the exchange's cold wallets in February. Bybit's spot market share dropped from 7.35% to 4.10%, its lowest since July 2023.

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ETH's price chart. (TradingView/CoinDesk)

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