Fed Holds Rates at 3.75% to 4% in 10 to 2 Vote, Bitcoin Nears $81K
The Fed held its benchmark rate at 3.75% to 4% in a 10-2 vote, with Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack pushing for a hike. Bitcoin whipsawed between $81,687 and below $80,500 before settling near $81,000 as $167M in crypto liquidations hit, mostly shorts.
$81,687. Then below $80,500. Then back to $81,000. Bitcoin whipsawed Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision, then reclaimed $81,000 in the minutes after the Fed held its benchmark rate at 3.75% to 4%. The vote was 10-2, and both dissenters wanted a hike.
The Fed announced the hold at 2 p.m. ET on October 28, as widely expected. Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack dissented, each preferring a 0.25 percentage point increase. Bitcoin was up about 0.5% over 24 hours.
The range held. Bitcoin had been boxed between $80,000 and $82,000, with resistance at $80,500. The pre-decision spike faded back inside that box, and the post-decision bounce stayed inside it too. No breakout.
Leverage took the hit. Coinglass data showed about $58 million in bitcoin liquidations on Wednesday, more than $46 million of them shorts. Across crypto, liquidations topped $167 million, roughly $110 million of it shorts. Glassnode noted the swings squeezed overleveraged participants across key liquidity clusters.
What the statement changed
The Fed published its statement with a notable edit. It dropped a line saying policy action would support a return to 2% inflation, and said more information would help officials decide the next step. December stays in play.
Futures priced about an 84% chance of a December hike before the decision. CME FedWatch put consensus for a hold at this meeting at roughly 90% hours earlier.
The two dissents contrast with September. The Fed raised rates by 0.25 points then, its first hike in over three years, with all 12 voters backing the move. Now two want to go further.
Inflation explains the hawkish pull. Consumer prices rose 3.7% year over year in September. Analysts noted persistent inflation supports future hikes, even though a pause was expected ahead of next week's US midterm elections. This was the Fed's last meeting before that vote.
Market read
Higher rates can pull money from risk assets such as stocks and Bitcoin. A hold removes that pressure for now. A live December hike keeps it in view.
The macro event is out of the way. The next one is not. Volatility had been closing in on 2026 lows ahead of the meeting, and a roughly $12 billion options expiry is still set for October 30.
