Bitcoin Steadies Near $76,500 as US Stocks Rebound From Fed Rate Hike
Key Takeaways
- •The Federal Reserve raised benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points to a 3.75%-4% range, ending a period of easing that began after July 2023.
- •Bitcoin was up 0.5% on the day near $76,500 after reaching new month-to-date lows on Tuesday.
- •The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.5% and the S&P 500 advanced 0.9% as investors bought equities following their recent decline.
- •CryptoQuant’s Bull Score Index fell from 80 to 60, which remains within its defined bullish threshold but indicates weaker momentum.
- •CryptoQuant identified $70,000 and the $62,000-$65,000 range as Bitcoin support levels while citing the delayed CLARITY Act and broader monetary-policy risks.
Bitcoin (BTC) traded near $76,500 after Thursday's opening bell on Wall Street as investors bought US equities following their recent dip, shaking off the Federal Reserve's latest rate hike.
The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization consolidated after slipping below $76,000 in the wake of a 0.25% interest-rate increase by the US central bank, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.5% as analysts saw room for further upside.
Bitcoin halts losses as US stocks turn green
Data from TradingView showed Bitcoin price volatility cooling over the past 24 hours, with only modest moves to take nearby liquidity. Data from CoinGlass, meanwhile, showed both bid and ask liquidity thickening around the current spot price, a typical feature of rangebound trading conditions.
US equities gained on the day as investors sought to capitalize on the local downside that followed policy tightening by the US Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 Index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.9% and 1.5%, respectively.
On Wednesday, the Fed voted to raise benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points, taking them to 3.75%-4%. It was the central bank's first hike since July 2023 and signaled an end to three years of easing, during which the Fed either cut rates or held them in the same range between meetings. Benchmark rates help set the cost of borrowing across financial markets, forming the liquidity backdrop against which risk-sensitive assets such as crypto trade.
Trading resource The Kobeissi Letter suggested that assets would continue to perform strongly despite the prospect of lower-liquidity conditions associated with the rate hikes. As Cointelegraph reported, central-bank rates are notching higher globally: the European Central Bank hiked by 0.25% last week, and the Bank of Japan is expected to follow suit on Friday — making the latter the next scheduled checkpoint for global monetary policy.
“The asset owner economy just keeps getting better,” it wrote in a post on X, referencing the day's gains in the Nasdaq.
Analysis sees BTC price trend “cooling, not turning”
Bitcoin also enjoyed relief after falling to new month-to-date lows on Tuesday. At the time of writing, BTC/USD traded 0.5% higher on the day.
Related: Bitcoin treasuries buy just 5.9K BTC in three months as paper losses linger
Commenting on the current market landscape, onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant described macro conditions as a hurdle to the continuation of Bitcoin's previous rebound, which totaled 25% in August.
“The trend is still bullish, but momentum and macro are working against it near-term,” CryptoQuant head of research Julio Moreno wrote in the firm's latest weekly report, sent to Cointelegraph.
Moreno noted that one of CryptoQuant's proprietary indicators tracking BTC price cycles, the Bull Score Index, had dropped from 80 to 60 — the cutoff point for what the firm describes as “bullish conditions.”
“Bitcoin is cooling, not turning. A Bull Score of 60 keeps the trend bullish, but fading US demand, rising altcoin inflows, and a week of macro risk — the delay of the CLARITY Act and a likely Fed hike — argue for consolidation. Watch $70K and $62K–$65K as support,” report summarized.
The CLARITY Act is a proposed piece of US legislation designed to establish a market-structure framework for digital assets, and its postponement was among the macro risks CryptoQuant flagged for the week.
