Bitcoin Bounces as Markets Brace for the Fed’s Next Move — SkimNews
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- The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate 25 basis points to 3.75%-4% on a unanimous 12-0 vote Wednesday — its first hike since July 2023, with traders having priced in a 93% probability ahead of the decision.
- Bitcoin briefly touched $76,499 after the announcement before settling near $76,300, roughly flat on the day, while the broader crypto market cap held above $2.6 trillion.
- Zcash surged as much as 23% to roughly $1,425 after Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang disclosed his firm's ZEC stake and called the token "a private complement to Bitcoin."
- ZEC has gained roughly 160% over the past month versus Bitcoin's 18.2% climb and is up nearly 3,000% over 365 days, making it the standout performer among the top 10 cryptocurrencies this week.
- Wall Street sold off harder than crypto — the Dow fell about 1.2% and the S&P 500 slid 0.4%-0.5% — as the 10-year Treasury yield topped 5% earlier in the week and oil pushed above $100 a barrel amid the Israel-Iran conflict.
- Roughly $373 million in crypto liquidations hit the market over 24 hours, with short positions taking the larger share as prices ground higher into the rate decision.
- The Crypto Fear and Greed Index read 50 ("neutral") — a significant drop from the "extreme greed" readings just three weeks ago.
Why it matters: Risk-asset holders now face one more quarter-point Fed hike before the median projection tops out at 4.1% by end-2026. The 23% Zcash surge shows capital rotating toward privacy plays even as the Crypto Fear and Greed Index fell from extreme greed to neutral.
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