Crypto · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
Federal Reserve Unanimously Raises Rates to 3.75%-4% as Bitcoin and Ether Whipsaw
Fed raises rates 25 bps to 3.75%–4.00% in a unanimous decision, first hike since 2023. Bitcoin hovered around $76,000 with little immediate movement after the announcement.
15 outlets, one story, no spin found.
3 of 4 outlets skipped it: warsh said inflation remains the Fed’s main concern.
15outlets compared
The Block reports the immediate BTC and ETH price swings. CoinDesk frames the move as 2022-style drawdown risk, not just a reaction.
Fed hikes, crypto whipsaws
Bitcoin and ether whipsawed after the U.S. Federal Reserve unanimously raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point, its first hike in more than three years.
“The Federal Open Market Committee voted 12-0 to raise its target range for the federal funds rate to 3.75%-4%.”
The Federal Open Market Committee voted 12-0 to raise its target range for the federal funds rate to 3.75%-4%, and bitcoin traded between roughly $75,000 and $76,500 immediately following the decision.
Ether swung between about $2,370 and $2,430 before settling near the lower end of the range at $2,376, as the move reversed the prior policy stance of cuts implemented in 2024 and 2025.
In the hours leading up to the decision, Warsh said, "I would be hard-pressed to describe broad financial conditions as restrictive," adding, "So we removed a dose of accommodation."
Warsh, Trump, and market debate
At a post-meeting press conference, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said inflation remains the central bank’s main concern after the Fed raised interest rates by 25 basis points, telling reporters, "The plain fact is that inflation is too high, and has been for too long."
Warsh also said, "I would have hiked 50 (basis points)," while CoinDesk’s live updates included President Donald Trump’s Truth Social message that "Interest Rates in the United States should be 1%, or less, because we are the Best Credit in the World,"
CoinDesk’s coverage tied the rate move to market pricing, noting bitcoin at $75,400 as stocks resolved lower, with the Nasdaq down by 0.55% and the S&P 500 down by 1%.
Other reporting framed the crypto reaction as resilience, with XTB saying bitcoin rose above $76,400 after rebounding from a low of $75,000, as uncertainty faded following the Federal Reserve meeting.
In that same XTB account, the stalemate of the CLARITY Act in the U.S. Senate was cited as a factor that had dragged bitcoin before the decision, even as the market quickly priced in the 25-basis-point hike.
What’s at stake next
As markets digested the Fed decision, some coverage highlighted that the dot plot and projections pointed to further tightening, with The Block noting the Fed’s latest projections point to rates remaining at 4.1% through the end of 2027.
“The Fed’s latest projections point to rates remaining at 4.1% through the end of 2027.”
The Block also quoted Bitget analyst Lewis Huang saying, "The market had one hike priced, and the dots have given it a sequence," while warning that tightening could be tested if inflation pressure is driven by energy.
In a separate account, Vietnam.vn said the Federal Reserve tightened monetary policy for the first time in more than three years, with the fed funds rate brought to a range of 3.75% to 4%, and that the central bank was expected to raise rates again this year.
Meanwhile, CoinDesk’s live updates and other reporting tied crypto risk to regulation and liquidity, with the failure to pass the CLARITY Act described as unsettling cryptocurrency markets this week.
In the same Vietnam.vn framing, gasoline prices rising nearly 4% in a month and diesel climbing 60% to record levels were cited as pressures that could unwind faster than inflation, creating a risk that the Fed is still tightening after the energy impulse fades.