Bitcoin Tops $101,000 Amid Fed Pause and Tariff Relief

The cryptocurrency market soared on Thursday, fueled by improved investor sentiment following the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged and the announcement of U.S. tariff concessions.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) is up 5% over the past 24 hours, breaking above $101,700 for the first time since January. Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH) has jumped 14% to $2,071, and XRP has surged 7% to $2.27. Solana (SOL) also posted significant gains, rising 10% to $161.

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization rose 3.8% to approximately $3.27 trillion, per CoinGecko. Leveraged liquidations came in at around $582 million on the day, according to CoinGlass, with BTC accounting for roughly $239 million and ETH for about $173 million.

Meanwhile, spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded $142 million in inflows, while spot Ethereum ETFs saw approximately $22 million in outflows, according to SoSoValue data.

Experts cited a number of macroeconomic and geopolitical influences behind today’s market gains, including U.S. tariff concessions for the U.K., and potentially the UAE.

“Today’s announcement of US tariff concessions is great news for the crypto industry, which, like global markets, has been suffering from the uncertainty sweeping US trade tariffs have created,” said Charles Wayn, co-founder of Galxe. “Indeed, this uncertainty halted a crypto bull market many thought would last until at least July, and has particularly impacted altcoins, which have not had the rally the industry and investors had hoped they would have this cycle.”

Wayn added that there’s hope for further concessions, which could bring further market certainty and improved conditions. “With more deals and concessions, the bull market may yet revive—and altseason could still be on the horizon,” he said

There was also optimism around a potential de-escalation of U.S.–China trade tensions, further boosting sentiment, according to Hani Abuagla, a senior market analyst at XTB MENA. “However, President Trump reiterated that he is unwilling to lower tariffs on Chinese goods before securing meaningful trade concessions,” Abuagla noted. “This mixed message could keep investors alert and limit the dollar’s upside.”

Several hours before the tariff pause was announced, U.S. President Donald Trump told his followers on Truth Social: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.”

Thursday’s rally follows the Federal Reserve’s widely expected decision on Wednesday to hold interest rates steady, keeping the benchmark federal funds rate at 4.25% to 4.50%.

U.S. stock markets also rallied on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up 1.5% and 1.9%, respectively.