The Fed has signaled that the first rate hike will take place in March
The price of Bitcoin, the top cryptocurrency, spiked to an intraday high of $38,820 on the Bitstamp exchange after the Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that it had left the overnight interest rate unchanged.
In its postmeeting statement, the Fed has indicated that it could raise rates in mid-March, but there is no concrete timeline for now.
The central bank was widely expected to signal that it would start hiking interest rates.
The Fed’s hawkish shift has been seen as the biggest headwind for cryptocurrencies and equities.
Earlier this week, Bitcoin plunged below $33,000 during a sell-off that analysts believe was caused by the unfavorable macro environment.
Analysts believe that crypto and other assets were able able to benefit from the ultra-easy monetary policy conducted by the central bank to cushion the blow caused by the pandemic.
In March 2020, the Federal Reserve slashed the benchmark short-term rate to a range of 0.25%-0.5%.
Source: https://u.today/breaking-bitcoin-spikes-to-intraday-high-as-fed-leaves-rates-unchanged