Crypto Markets Rally as Fed Hints at Limited Rate Increases
Crypto markets rallied on Thursday following the Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates for the first time since 2023. The Fed voted to lift the target rate by 25 basis points to 3.75%-4%, with a median policy rate of 4.1% at the end of both 2026 and 2027, implying just one further 25 basis-point move and no sustained tightening cycle.
Bitcoin (BTC) pushed up to $76,621 on Thursday, a gain of 0.60% since midnight UTC and 0.88% over 24 hours, while Ether (ETH) added 1.1% to $2,444.36 and Solana (SOL) rose 2% to $100.57.
The sector's recovery is broad-based, but more pronounced at the speculative end, with 94 of the CoinDesk 100 constituents higher over 24 hours and the small-cap CoinDesk 80 advancing 4.7% compared with 1.2% for the bitcoin-heavy CoinDesk 5.