Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies declined on Thursday, as investors assessed the US Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged while maintaining a cautious outlook on inflation and future monetary policy.
Bitcoin fell 0.67 percent over the past 24 hours to $80,069.55, remaining close to the closely watched $80,000 level. The world’s largest cryptocurrency had a market capitalization of approximately $1.6 trillion, down 0.9 percent.
Ethereum also weakened, declining 0.79 percent to $2,322.20, while XRP dropped 2.11 percent to $1.2886. Solana slipped 1.04 percent to $100.49, reflecting broader pressure across major digital assets despite selective gains among smaller cryptocurrencies.
The total cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at approximately $2.69 trillion, with Bitcoin accounting for about 60.1 percent of the market and Ethereum representing 10.6 percent. Total cryptocurrency trading volume reached around $70.9 billion over 24 hours.
Bitcoin reacts to Fed
Crypto markets remained under pressure after the Federal Open Market Committee voted 10-2 to maintain the federal funds target range at 3.75 percent to 4.00 percent.
The Fed said economic activity continued to expand at a strong pace, supported by resilient domestic spending, strong productivity growth and robust capital investment. Job gains had kept pace with workforce growth and unemployment had changed little.
However, policymakers said inflation remained elevated and uncertainty remained high, partly because of geopolitical developments. The Fed said additional information would help determine the policy stance needed to return inflation to its 2 percent target.
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa D. Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth M. Hammack dissented from the decision, preferring to raise the target range by 25 basis points.
The decision kept borrowing conditions relatively restrictive, limiting expectations for near-term monetary easing that could support demand for risk-sensitive assets including cryptocurrencies.
Institutional flows nevertheless provided some support to Bitcoin. US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds attracted approximately $137.3 million in net inflows on Wednesday, extending their positive streak to three consecutive trading sessions.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust accounted for $136 million of the latest inflows, while Bitwise’s BITB attracted another $1.3 million. The three sessions from October 26 through October 28 brought combined inflows of approximately $423.6 million.
Ethereum, altcoins decline
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, traded at $2,322.20, down 0.79 percent over 24 hours and 3.26 percent over the preceding seven days.
Its market capitalization stood at approximately $283.48 billion, while daily trading volume reached $10.53 billion.
BNB declined 1.80 percent to $741.20, although it remained 1.04 percent higher over the previous week. Its market capitalization reached $97.29 billion, with $2.31 billion in daily trading volume.
XRP fell 2.11 percent to $1.2886, extending its weekly decline to 2.81 percent. The cryptocurrency had a market capitalization of approximately $81.57 billion and trading volume of $2 billion.
Solana slipped 1.04 percent to $100.49, bringing its seven-day decline to 3.83 percent. Its market capitalization stood at $59.14 billion, while daily trading volume reached $2.91 billion.
TRON remained comparatively stable, edging down 0.02 percent to $0.331528 while recording a marginal weekly increase of 0.14 percent.
Cardano declined 0.95 percent to $0.2010, extending its seven-day loss to 7.41 percent, while Avalanche fell 1.13 percent to $8.78 and was down 5.08 percent over the week.
Bitcoin Cash leads losses
Bitcoin Cash recorded one of the steepest declines among major cryptocurrencies, falling 5.86 percent to $278.69, although it remained 1.07 percent higher over seven days.
Its market capitalization stood at approximately $5.60 billion, with daily trading volume of $227.16 million. The decline pushed Bitcoin Cash below $286 as selling pressure intensified following the Fed decision.
Dogecoin declined 0.48 percent to $0.078945, extending its weekly drop to 0.97 percent, while Monero slipped 0.36 percent to $598.40 and was down 5.81 percent over seven days.
Zcash fell 0.88 percent to $1,271.65 but maintained a weekly gain of 0.94 percent.
Chainlink edged 0.14 percent higher to $11.62 despite remaining 3.53 percent lower over seven days. Uniswap performed more strongly, gaining 2.64 percent to $7.2719 and extending its weekly increase to 1.32 percent.
Litecoin also advanced 1.49 percent to $58.10, although it remained 2.04 percent lower on a weekly basis.
Hyperliquid bucks weakness
Hyperliquid emerged as one of the strongest performers among major digital assets, surging 11.20 percent to $89.58.
The cryptocurrency extended its weekly gain to 13.02 percent, with its market capitalization reaching $22.40 billion and daily trading volume standing at approximately $1.28 billion.
Other selected cryptocurrencies also advanced. Ethena gained 2.96 percent to $0.2053, while OKB rose 1.27 percent to $111.57.
Weakness remained evident elsewhere. NEAR Protocol declined 3.57 percent to $4.4452, extending its weekly loss to 12.06 percent, while Hedera fell 1.65 percent to $0.07411.
Sui slipped 0.02 percent to $0.9247, bringing its seven-day decline to 6.43 percent.
Among stablecoins, Tether traded near $0.9988, while USDC remained close to $1.0010.
The broader cryptocurrency market now faces a test of whether renewed institutional inflows can offset uncertainty surrounding US interest rates. With Bitcoin trading just above $80,000 and the Fed maintaining its benchmark range while reiterating that inflation remains elevated, investors are monitoring upcoming economic data, ETF flows and wider financial-market sentiment for indications of the cryptocurrency’s next significant move.
