Live updates: Bitcoin steady as stocks slide following Fed rate hike, Warsh press conference

The Federal Reserve raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to a 3.75%-4% range, a unanimous decision that included a dot-plot signaling one more hike this year. Markets reacted with U.S. equities sliding—financials led the decline—while bitcoin has largely held near lower levels and privacy token zcash has surged about 130% over the past 30 days.

By AI NewsroomPublished about 5 hours agoUpdated about 5 hours ago0 views

Live updates: Bitcoin steady as stocks slide following Fed rate hike, Warsh press conference

Why It Matters

The Fed's move and Chairman Kevin Warsh's hawkish remarks underline continued priority on bringing inflation back to 2%, a stance that is reshaping risk assets, bank profitability, and bond yields. Large short-term moves in crypto and equity sectors reflect market reassessment of growth and inflation outlooks following the policy shift.

Key Facts

Fed rate hike: 25 basis points to a 3.75%-4% fed funds target range
Vote: Unanimous FOMC decision
Fed guidance: Dot plot suggests one more rate hike this year
Bitcoin price (reported): $75,400–$76,300 (trading range reported around the decision)
Zcash performance: Up ~130% over 30 days, trading near its 2016 all-time highs

The Federal Reserve lifted its benchmark federal funds rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday, moving the range to 3.75%–4.00% in a unanimous vote. The policy statement and Chairman Kevin Warsh's post-meeting remarks emphasized that inflation remains the central concern and that the committee has removed a "dose of accommodation," while updated projections imply one additional increase before year-end.

Markets reacted quickly. U.S. equities fell, led by financial-sector weakness: the State Street Financial Sector SPDR (XLF) was down about 2.4%, contributing to a roughly 1.6% drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq showed smaller declines, down about 1% and 0.55% respectively in the immediate coverage. Bond yields moved higher across the curve and the dollar strengthened versus major currencies.

Cryptocurrencies showed mixed moves around the Fed decision. Bitcoin, which had been off sharply for the week, was trading in the mid-$75,000s to $76,300 in the minutes after the announcement and exhibited volatility but little net change from pre-decision levels. Separately, privacy-focused token zcash has surged roughly 130% over the past 30 days and is trading close to its 2016 all-time highs.

The Fed chair stressed that recent inflation readings do not indicate a durable improvement and cautioned against relying on noisy datapoints. Warsh declined to pre-commit to future actions, saying he would not provide forward guidance and that he was not prejudging subsequent moves. Market veterans and fixed-income commentators reacted skeptically and sharply: Jeff Gundlach said he would have preferred a 50-basis-point hike, Peter Schiff suggested the Fed was compelled to act, and others questioned whether the action will effectively address structural price pressures.

Overall, the policy tightening and the Fed's message that further restriction could follow have prompted a reassessment across asset classes—pressuring stocks, nudging up yields, and producing continued volatility in cryptocurrencies while select tokens like zcash rally strongly amid the broader shuffle in risk appetite.