Overview
- The Federal Reserve raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to a 3.75%–4.00% target range, and its dot plot signaled only one more 25 bp move, changing traders’ expectations for risk assets.
- The U.S. Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act after winning 50 votes but falling short of the 60 needed, leaving SEC/CFTC jurisdiction unclear and sustaining regulatory risk for U.S. firms.
- Markets sold off after those shocks, pushing bitcoin toward roughly $75,000 before recovering to the mid-$70,000s and then surging above $80,000 in a rally that wiped out about $250 million of short positions over four hours.
- Large spot ETF flows have driven price discovery: trackers show roughly $296 million of net outflows from bitcoin ETFs and $224 million from ether ETFs around the midweek move, with intraday flows turning mixed afterwards.
- Major altcoins reacted unevenly as traders rebalanced: Ethereum held near $2,400, XRP defended the $1.30 technical floor, and Zcash jumped after Paradigm’s Matt Huang disclosed holdings, underscoring how news and positioning can produce outsized moves.