Major cryptocurrencies drop as Fed keeps rates unchanged

Major cryptocurrencies fell in Thursday's trade following the Federal Reserve's decision to keep the key interest rate unchanged.

Overnight, the US Federal Reserve maintained its key interest rate at 5.25–5.5% for the eighth consecutive time, as expected, while signaling the possibility of a rate cut in its next meeting in September, News.Az reports citing the Economic Times.

The Federal Open Market Committee's unanimous decision reflects a continued wait-and-watch approach as it monitors inflation trends.

CoinSwitch Markets Desk, said, "Bitcoin fell below $65,000 after the US Federal Reserve announced it would keep interest rates unchanged. However, with markets now anticipating rate cuts in the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting in September, the outlook for a Bitcoin rally by the end of the year has strengthened."

Meanwhile, CoinDCX Research Team, said, "The crypto market tumbled after the Fed's decision. Tomorrow's U.S. unemployment rate announcement is expected to induce more volatility, with an 'Actual' figure greater than 'Forecast' being good for crypto."

On Thursday, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading 3.2% lower at $64,285, while Ethereum fell nearly 4.5% to $3,313. Meanwhile, the global cryptocurrency market cap dropped by 3.6% to around $2.3 trillion in the last 24 hours.

Altcoins and meme coins, such as BNB (3%), Solana (8%), XRP (5.7%), Dogecoin (5%), Cardano (4.6%), Avalanche (4.3%), Shiba Inu (3.8%), Polkadot (3.4%), and Chainlink (4%) also declined.

News.Az