Bitcoin Slips Below $65K After Fed Keeps Interest Rates Unchanged

Bitcoin (BTC) slipped on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates unchanged for the fourth meeting in a row. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced that the federal funds rate would stay between 3.50% and 3.75%. All 12 voting members supported the move, showing a clear agreement to keep policy steady for now.

Before the announcement, markets had already expected no change, but the reaction still came after the statement was released. Bitcoin, which had been steady around $65,300, dipped slightly after the news. 

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading for $64,853, down 1.2% within 24 hours, but it has still stayed about 5% higher over the past week. Trading activity has improved by 6.89% within the same period to $28.1 billion. However, the price action suggests these activities are just traders selling their positions. 

This comes as investors shifted their attention to Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s first press conference for clues on the path of monetary policy. 

Fed signals steady growth but warns on uncertainty

The Fed’s meeting was also the first under Chair Kevin Warsh. Because of this, investors are now focused on his first press conference. 

They want to understand if the central bank is leaning more strictly on inflation control (known as “hawkish”) or more open to future rate cuts (known as “dovish”). The official statement from the Fed did not give strong clues about future moves, and it removed earlier language that suggested possible easing.

In its statement, the FOMC said economic activity in the U.S. is still growing at a solid pace, even though there is “elevated uncertainty” linked partly to conflict in the Middle East. The committee also mentioned pressure in some areas of the economy, especially energy supply, which is often affected by global tensions. 

At the same time, the Fed repeated its strong focus on inflation control, saying, “The Committee will deliver price stability.” This shows the central bank is still serious about bringing inflation down to its 2% target.

Fresh quarterly projections also showed officials expect interest rates to remain higher than previously forecast. The median estimate for the federal funds rate at the end of the year rose to 3.8%, compared with 3.4% in March, signaling that expectations for rate cuts have faded.

$117 million liquidated from the market

Following the announcement, about $117 million in Bitcoin positions were liquidated. According to data from Coinglass, about $75.5 million, which resulted in over 64% of the total, was from traders who had bet on the price going up, of which $41 million came from short position traders. The majority of it happened in Binance. 

Price action shows rejection from resistance levels

The price chart on TradingView shows how the price move played out. Before the news, Bitcoin was holding above $66,000, trading around $66,002 as it consolidated sideways since the beginning of the week. 

However, price is now printing heavy sell candles in its path. The fall also aligns with the rejection from a resistance level at $66K, as well as a higher timeframe resistance level at $67,000, this level has been a crucial point for the assets because it has reacted many times to it. 

Bitcoin now trades downwards, potentially heading to the weekly low at $60K. At the same time, the Relative Strength Index is currently at 40, suggesting that the price is approaching an oversold level but still has room to sell if the pressure continues.

Traders are advised to manage trades carefully during major macroeconomic events to reduce the risk of liquidation cascades.

Also Read: Strategy Dividend Pressure Weighs on Bitcoin Below $66K: QCP