ETH is down 7% on the week as the Fed signals the bar for rate cuts has risen, and ETF outflows top $350 million over two days.
Bitcoin is trading at $75,282 as of Wednesday afternoon, down 1.2% over 24 hours and 4.4% on the week, as crypto markets extended losses following the Federal Reserve’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged.
Ether fell harder, changing hands at $2,225 after a 2.8% daily drop and 7.3% weekly loss. Solana dropped 2.1% to $82, XRP fell 2% to $1.35, and BNB shed 1.8% to $612. Dogecoin was the lone green name in the top 10, up 2.2%.
The total crypto market cap fell to $2.6 trillion, down 1.4% on the day, with Bitcoin dominance at 58%, according to CoinGecko.
Contentious Decision
The FOMC kept the federal funds target range at 3.50% to 3.75%, but the vote split 8-4, the most contested decision since October 1992. Governor Stephen Miran dissented in favor of a 25 basis point cut, while regional presidents Beth Hammack, Neel Kashkari, and Lorie Logan opposed the easing-bias language in the statement, per CNBC.
In their post-meeting statement, the committee acknowledged that “Inflation is elevated, in part reflecting the recent increase in global energy prices.” CME FedWatch is now pricing no further cuts through the rest of 2026, a hawkish repricing from the dot plot delivered in March.
The meeting was widely viewed as Chair Jerome Powell’s last, with the Senate Banking Committee earlier in the day advancing Kevin Warsh’s nomination as next chair on a party-line vote. JPMorgan Asset Management chief global strategist David Kelly told CNBC that the pattern of dissent amounted to “a renewed declaration of independence” and “a shot across the bow at Kevin Warsh.”
ETF Flows
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs logged $89.68 million in net outflows on Tuesday, bringing the two-day total to roughly $353 million, according to SoSoValue data.
The reversal snapped a nine-session inflow streak that had pulled in over $2.1 billion for the Bitcoin ETF complex.
Spot Ether ETFs extended their own losing streak with $21.8 million in net outflows on Tuesday. Their two-day total now exceeds $36 million in outflows after a 10-day inflow streak that delivered more than $633 million.
Strategy Keeps Buying
Despite the ETF reversal, Strategy continues to accumulate. Michael Saylor’s firm disclosed in an April 27 8-K that it bought 3,273 BTC for $255 million between April 20 and April 26 at an average price of $77,906, lifting total holdings to 818,334 BTC. The purchase was funded entirely through the company’s at-the-market common stock program, with no preferred issuance during the period.
With BTC now under $76,000, Strategy’s $75,537 average cost basis is once again within striking distance of unrealized losses.
