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Bitcoin and Ethereum fell as investors assessed the Federal Reserve’s latest policy signals, with minutes from the September meeting showing that most Federal Open Market Committee participants expected another interest-rate increase to be appropriate by year-end.
According to data from CoinGecko (on October 7 at 7:54 p.m. UTC), Bitcoin dropped shortly after the minutes were released, falling to $83,065 before retracing back upward. Ethereum also followed a similar price action, falling from around $2,561 to $2,542 before recovering.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin was trading at $83,311, down 2.5% over the previous 24 hours, while Ether was trading at $2,564, down 4.7% over the same period as of 7:54 p.m. UTC on October 7.
Other major tokens also declined. Data from CoinGecko (on October 7 at 7:54 p.m. UTC) showed BNB down 1.4%, XRP down 5.4%, Solana down 3.9%, and DOGE down 6.6%.
The overall crypto market was down 3.0% at around $2.92 trillion, while trading activity increased 34.7% to $106.22 billion. The increase in trading activity came alongside broad declines in crypto prices.
Fed minutes point to another rate hike
The minutes from the September 15–16 FOMC meeting said most participants assessed that another increase in the federal funds target range would likely be appropriate by year-end.
Officials also stressed that future decisions would depend on incoming economic data and its implications for the economic outlook and balance of risks. The minutes therefore point to a possible additional hike rather than committing the Fed to a specific move at a future meeting.
The FOMC had raised its target range by 25 basis points at the September meeting to 3.75% to 4%, with all participants supporting the decision.
Inflation remains a concern for officials
Fed officials remained concerned that inflation had not cooled enough. Some officials said the risks of prices rising faster than expected had increased. Several also believed the current interest rate was either not high enough to slow the economy or was only slightly restrictive.
The Fed also pointed to several factors that could keep price pressures alive. Energy prices had increased, while spending linked to artificial intelligence continued to grow. Several officials said the size of the AI investment boom, including spending on data centers and chips, had continued to surprise them.
The minutes also showed that the U.S. economy remained fairly strong. Economic activity had continued to expand, while the job market was expected to remain generally stable. That could give the Fed room to consider another rate increase if inflation remains a concern.
For crypto traders, the focus now shifts to what the Fed does next. The September minutes do not guarantee another hike, but they show that a further increase remains a possibility. That outlook came as Bitcoin, Ethereum and the wider crypto market faced selling pressure.
Crypto liquidations
The selling pressure after the release also coincided with liquidations. According to data from Coinglass (on October 7 at 7:54 p.m. UTC), around $46.09 million has been liquidated from the market within the last 4 hours. Around $36.41 million came from traders who had bet on the prices going up, while the rest, around $9.68 million, came from short position traders.
The broader liquidation figure reached around $712.85 million, with approximately 124,222 traders affected.
The market data does not establish that the Fed minutes directly caused Bitcoin’s decline, but the policy outlook came as investors assessed the prospect of tighter monetary conditions through the end of the year.
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