Bitcoin and many altcoins cautiously bounced back on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve interest rate decision.
Bitcoin (BTC) rose to $84,500 as it struggled to move above the psychological barrier of $85,000.
Other top-performing blue-chip cryptocurrencies were Uniswap (UNI), Stellar (XLM), Algorand (ALGO), and Pepe (PEPE). Uniswap jumped 12% to $6.90, while Stellar climbed 10% to $0.293. Algorand and Pepe were up over 9%, pushing the total crypto market cap to $2.79 trillion.
The ongoing crypto recovery mirrored gains in U.S. equities. Major indices like the Dow Jones, Nasdaq 100, and S&P 500 rose by over 0.50%, while the U.S. dollar index pulled back.
Altcoins rose ahead of FOMC decision
The rebound came as market participants anticipated a Federal Reserve pivot when the committee concludes its meeting on Wednesday. Fed officials are reportedly concerned that Donald Trump’s policies could push the U.S. into a recession by reducing consumer spending and hurting business investment. A closely watched report from the Atlanta Fed projects that the economy will contract by 1.8% in the first quarter. A more dovish Fed stance could serve as a catalyst for both stocks and altcoins. In a note, an analyst told Bloomberg that:
“The central bank is widely expected to remain paused with its interest-rate moves. At the same time, soothing prognostications from Powell around economic stability could help alleviate some of the jitters.”
SEC vs Ripple case
Altcoins like Uniswap, Stellar, Algorand, and Pepe also jumped after the SEC concluded the long-running legal battle against Ripple Labs. That was a major milestone since the legal issue has been going on for almost five years.
The case ended after the SEC dropped similar lawsuits against companies including Uniswap, Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, and OpenSea.
The SEC under the Trump administration has pledged to adopt a more crypto-friendly approach — a sharp contrast to the previous administration, where Gary Gensler focused heavily on litigation.
There are also signs that the SEC will approve several recently submitted spot crypto ETF applications. Financial firms have applied for funds tracking cryptocurrencies like XRP, Polkadot, Litecoin, Aptos, and Sui. ETF approvals could drive increased demand from Wall Street investors.
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