Fed Rate Hike Odds Surge: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP Markets Under Pressure

The Federal Reserve's potential interest rate hike is putting pressure on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP. Markets now price an 86.5% probability that the Fed will raise its target rate by 25 basis points from 3.50%-3.75% to 3.75%-4.00%. This would be the first rate increase in three years and could tighten financial conditions for risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.

Economists are divided on the likelihood of a September hike, with fewer than 13% of respondents in a Bloomberg survey expecting it. However, analysts remain optimistic about the technical outlook of Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe believes that BTC may undergo a brief consolidation before its next upward move, targeting the $90,000-$92,000 area. Ethereum is also testing an important resistance zone near $2,550, with a sustained weekly close above this level potentially opening the way toward resistance above $2,800 and $3,000.

XRP faces a more fragile setup after falling roughly 20% in three weeks from $1.70 to $1.35. Analyst Ali Martinez identified $1.35 as a decisive XRP support level, where about 2.29 billion tokens have previously changed hands.