Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged as Bitcoin Barely Breezes Higher

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at their meeting on Wednesday, and Bitcoin responded with a small increase. The leading cryptocurrency was trading at around $64,402 per coin after moving up by nearly 1% in the hour following the announcement.

The Fed's decision to maintain the federal funds rate in the 3.50%-3.75% range comes as no surprise, given that three of the 12 members of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee 'preferred' a quarter-percentage-point hike at this meeting.

New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh was tight-lipped about future rate decisions, saying only that the central bank is 'committed as ever to deliver.' He characterized the decision not as a pause, but as a rigorous review of the economic situation.