Bitcoin is trading in the $75,000 range. The U.S. Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time in about three years, but prices have shown little clear direction because the market had already priced in much of the move.
Bitcoin was trading at $75,613.48 as of 8:05 a.m. on the 17th, down 0.08% from 24 hours earlier, according to CoinMarketCap, a global cryptocurrency market data site. At the same time, Ethereum was down 0.29% at $2,391.33, BNB was up 0.73% at $718.35, and XRP was down 0.21% at $1.285.
The domestic market was higher. On Bithumb at the same time, Bitcoin was trading at 104.1 million won, up 0.52% from the previous day. Ethereum was up 0.67% at 3.292 million won, and XRP was up 2.14% at 1,770 won.
The Fed said on the 16th, following its Federal Open Market Committee meeting, that it had raised the benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage point to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%. It was the Fed's first rate increase since July 2023. All 12 voting FOMC members backed the decision.
In its statement, the Fed said economic activity is expanding at a solid pace and that inflation remains elevated. It said the increase would help return inflation to the Fed's 2% target.
The cryptocurrency market's reaction was limited. Bitcoin saw greater volatility immediately after the rate decision but soon returned to pre-announcement levels. Analysts attributed the muted response to the market having already priced in much of the likelihood of a quarter-point increase.
Investors' attention is shifting to the path of rates ahead. In cryptocurrency trading, investors had already moved to cut exposure to risk assets and increase stablecoin holdings before the FOMC meeting. According to Cooper Duchane, an analyst at Talos Research, net buying of stablecoins ahead of the meeting accounted for 28% of flows. That contrasts with average net selling of 8% before past FOMC meetings.
The Fear and Greed Index compiled by cryptocurrency data provider Alternative.me stood at 51, down 18 points from the previous day, putting it in "neutral" territory. A reading closer to zero indicates weaker investor sentiment, while a reading closer to 100 signals an overheated market.
