Crypto Market Holds Steady as Fed Keeps Rates Unchanged

The cryptocurrency market remained relatively flat on Wednesday as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) is up 2.5% to nearly $97,000 over the past 24 hours, while Ethereum (ETH) has gained 3% to reach approximately $1,815. XRP also recorded an increase, albeit more modest, rising 1% to $2.13. Meanwhile, Solana (SOL) climbed 2% to $145.

Two standouts among altcoins include KAITO, which surged 47% to $1.29, and Alpaca Finance, which rose 38% to $0.28.

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization remains flat on the day at around $3.03 trillion. Meanwhile, leveraged liquidations totaled approximately $249 million, according to CoinGlass. BTC accounted for around $93 million of these liquidations, with ETH following at approximately $45 million.

Meanwhile, spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded $86 million in outflows on Wednesday. Spot ETH ETFs experienced around $18 million in outflows, according to SoSoValue data.

Fed Holds Rates Steady

The slowed market activity comes as the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, maintaining its benchmark federal-funds rate at 4.25% to 4.50%. This decision came at the conclusion of a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).

The move was widely anticipated by markets, and Fed officials emphasized they are closely monitoring the implications of existing policies before considering any future adjustments. "Uncertainty about the economic outlook has increased further," the FOMC said.

The Fed’s decision comes amid growing pressure from President Donald Trump to lower interest rates. Over the past few weeks, Trump has been increasingly vocal in criticizing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his handling of monetary policy.

In a social media post on April 18, Trump wrote: “The ECB is expected to cut interest rates for the 7th time, and yet, ‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always TOO LATE AND WRONG, yesterday issued a report which was another, and typical, complete mess!”