Bitcoin Reclaims $81,000 After Fed Holds Rates Steady
Bitcoin recovered to the $81,000 level after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.75–4.00%. Buying flowed back into the cryptocurrency market as fears of additional rate hikes (monetary tightening) failed to materialize. The significance of this rebound lies less in the size of the gain than in how the market digested the rate event. It is seen as a signal that the market placed more weight on the rate being held at current levels than on further tightening. The Fed reportedly paired the rate hold with a hawkish (tightening-leaning) message.
The market showed selective strength centered on majors. As of 4:59 a.m., Bitcoin traded at $81,464.90, up 0.93% over 24 hours, while Ethereum rose 1.03% to $2,369.22. Major altcoins were mostly stronger as well: Solana gained 1.67%, Dogecoin 2.11%, Ripple 0.89%, and BNB 0.77%, with only Tron slipping slightly by 0.08%. Capital is seen to have flowed into large-cap coins first. Bitcoin dominance rose 0.06 percentage points from the previous day to 60.09%, and Ethereum dominance edged up 0.02 percentage points to 10.61%.
Spot market activity was also brisk. Spot trading volume over the past 24 hours totaled $64.02 billion.
The derivatives market reacted more sharply. Derivatives trading volume rose 10.17% from the previous day to $634.94 billion, and liquidations reached $132.15 million. Shorts accounted for 71.31% of liquidations. By asset, Bitcoin liquidations were the largest at $62.21 million, followed by Ethereum at $35.62 million.
Market liquidity improved as well. DeFi trading volume grew 7.57% from the previous day to $10.30 billion, while stablecoin trading volume rose 7.80% to $66.14 billion.
Security risk factors were also flagged. Three Bitcoin Core vulnerabilities were disclosed, and 91.5% of September's crypto hacking losses were attributed to the Bitget and Liquid Network incidents.
