Bitcoin climbed back above $77,500 as XRP set the pace among major cryptocurrencies, with the broad risk-on move tracking a slide in Federal Reserve rate-hike expectations to 62%. For a market increasingly wired to macro liquidity, cheaper expected money is the input that decentralized compute markets, AI-token protocols, and the rest of the risk stack price off of.

Key points:

• Bitcoin traded back above the $77,500 level in the latest session.
• XRP led the major-cap tokens, outperforming the rest of the large-cap group.
• Odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike eased to 62%, easing pressure on risk assets.

Bitcoin Reclaims $77,500 While XRP Sets the Pace Among Majors

Bitcoin's return above $77,500 anchored a session in which the largest tokens moved higher together, as reported by CoinDesk. The reclaim follows recent volatility that had seen Bitcoin trade lower on shifting rate signals. For related coverage, see Bitcoin Rises Above $68,000 as Crypto Liquidations Hit $1.31B in One Hour.

XRP was the standout, leading the major-cap group rather than trailing Bitcoin as it often does in liquidity-driven rebounds. XRP, the token associated with the Ripple payments network, has long traded as one of the most liquid large-cap altcoins, which makes it a common first stop for capital rotating further out the risk curve. That relative strength put a large-cap altcoin, not Bitcoin itself, at the front of the move. For related coverage, see Strategy Bitcoin Purchase: What's Verified So Far.

Which Large-Caps Joined the Move

The rebound was broad rather than isolated to a single asset, with Bitcoin reclaiming its level and XRP leading the majors higher. The advance also lifted equities tied to the sector, with Bitcoin setting a fresh intraday high alongside gains in crypto-linked names, including Robinhood, Strategy and Coinbase. Crypto-adjacent equities have increasingly traded as a proxy for digital-asset exposure in traditional brokerage accounts, so token rallies frequently spill into these shares. The session marks a reversal from the earlier stretch when Bitcoin had dipped toward $78,400 on Fed commentary.

Why Lower Fed Hike Odds Are Supporting Crypto Sentiment

The macro trigger sits with the Fed: market-implied odds of a rate hike slipped to 62%, loosening the tightest end of financial-conditions expectations. These odds are derived from pricing in fed funds futures markets, where traders position based on expected Federal Reserve policy decisions. Lower hike odds reduce the discount rate applied to long-duration, high-beta assets, and Bitcoin and altcoins sit at the far end of that curve.

The repricing coincided with a scheduled address from Fed Governor Christopher Waller, delivered September 3. Waller is a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, whose commentary feeds directly into rate-expectations pricing. Rate-path commentary from Fed officials is the kind of input that has repeatedly moved crypto in recent sessions, echoing the pattern seen when Bitcoin's sharp moves triggered heavy liquidations.

How the Macro Shift Maps to XRP's Strength

When hike odds fall, capital tends to rotate out further on the risk curve, and a leading large-cap altcoin like XRP is where that appetite shows up first. XRP's outperformance is consistent with a sentiment-led bid rather than an asset-specific catalyst named in the session's reporting.

For the AI-crypto stack, the same easing that lifts token prices also lowers the funding cost for the compute-heavy protocols, from decentralized GPU markets to on-chain inference networks, whose token valuations track the broader risk complex. Near-term, sentiment remains hostage to the next data print and Fed signal rather than any settled shift in the rate path.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions