Crypto markets hold steady as investors await US Fed rate-cut guidance

Cryptocurrency markets were buoyant on Wednesday as flagship token Bitcoin briefly reclaimed the $94,000 mark, reinforcing its short-term bullish structure ahead of US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s rate-cut decision scheduled later today. Ethereum, too, extended its outperformance, trading near two-week highs, supported by short covering and improving sentiment ahead of the FOMC.  Broader large-caps such as ADA, SOL and LINK benefitted from a better risk tone over the past 24 hours. Altcoins traded mixed but continued to show pockets of relative strength as Bitcoin consolidated. 

 

If Bitcoin remains range-bound post-FOMC, rotational flows, analysts believe, may continue to support altcoins at the margins. A sustained trend, however, will require a clearer macro signal and stronger participation across spot markets.

 

Macro conditions, they said, continue to dictate overall market tone. “Equity weakness and elevated long-bond yields have reinforced a cautious stance. The muted bid-ask depth and low leverage across futures suggest that investors are unwilling to chase upside into an unclear macro backdrop. The broader message across desks is consistent: the next directional move will hinge less on the cut itself and more on US Fed Chair Powell’s commentary around the path forward,” said Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus.

 

Akshat Siddhant, lead quant analyst at Mudrex, meanwhile, believes the surge in tokens was driven by concentrated whale accumulation, increasing buying pressure. More than 403,000 BTC have moved off exchanges this week, tightening supply and amplifying price reactions as demand rises.

 

“While a 25 bps cut is largely priced in, the real focus is on the Fed’s outlook for 2026,” Siddhant added.  

Bitcoin faces resistance at $94,000–$95,000

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $92,662, up 2.76 per cent over the past 24 hours with a trading volume of $65.12 billion. During the session, the token oscillated between $89,977 and $94,601, according to CoinMarketCap. Ethereum mirrored the positive sentiment, trading with gains of roughly 6.7 per cent on a 24-hour volume of $31 billion after fluctuating between $3,095 and $3,395.

 

From a technical standpoint, a dovish tone could sustain momentum within the $93,000–$95,000 band, whereas a more cautious stance may pull BTC back toward $88,000, Siddhant noted.

 

That said, analysts believe the market’s current bias remains tilted more toward drift than breakout potential.

 

“A defensive positioning is likely until a stronger catalyst appears. Support now lies near $90,000 (with a fallback zone around the high-$80,000s) and resistance remains near $94,000–$95,000. For customers, the sensible play is to enter small during dips toward $90,000, avoid leverage, and wait for a clear push above $94,000 before adding meaningful long exposure,” Subburaj said.

Altcoins: MemeCore shines, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) falls

MemeCore (M), Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET), Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), Cardano (ADA), Avalanche (AVAX), OKB (OKB), Sei (SEI), Ethereum (ETH), Worldcoin (WLD), MYX Finance (MYX), Optimism (OP), Celestia (TIA), Polkadot (DOT), Aave (AAVE), Internet Computer (ICP), ether.fi (ETHFI), Stacks (STX), Monero (XMR), Lido DAO (LDO), Stellar (XLM), Curve DAO Token (CRV), Morpho (MORPHO), Bonk (BONK), Zcash (ZEC), Aptos (APT), Ondo (ONDO), Jupiter (JUP), Solana (SOL), Mantle (MNT), Dogecoin (DOGE) led gains on CoinMarketCap with rallies of up to 15 per cent.

 

In contrast, Bitcoin Cash (BCH), UNUS SED LEO (LEO), Pi (PI), TRON (TRX), Kaspa (KAS), and Quant (QNT) traded lower by up to 2 per cent, CoinMarketCap data showed.

Top trending crypto coins

 

Ethereum (ETH), Yooldo (ESPORTS), pippin (PIPPIN), Bitcoin (BTC), Official Arox (AROX), Franklin (FRANKLIN), Cute Cat Candle (CCC), APRO (AT), GaiAI (GAIX), OFFICIAL TRUMP (TRUMP) were the top 10 trending crypto tokens for the day.