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Bitcoin Pulls Back With Markets Nervous Ahead of Fed Meeting Results

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 were both lower by more than 1% about an hour before the close.

Updated Mar 18, 2025, 6:58 p.m. Published Mar 18, 2025, 6:57 p.m.
The U.S. Federal Reserve building in Washington.
Markets were lower ahead of the Fed meeting results (Getty images)

What to know:

  • Crypto traded lower alongside U.S. stocks on Tuesday.
  • The Fed began its policy meeting today, with results due tomorrow afternoon U.S. hours.
  • No one is expecting the Fed to cut rates tomorrow, but investors will be on the lookout the central bank is turning a bit more dovish given the recent economic and market uncertainties.

After a couple of sessions of good vibes, risk markets headed back into retreat on Tuesday, one day ahead of the results of this week's U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting.

Bitcoin was trading at $81,300 at press time, lower by 3.5% over the past 24 hours. Solana , ether and XRP were posting modestly higher losses.

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A bit more than an hour before the close of trade, the Nasdaq was down 1.7% and S&P 500 1.1%.

The Federal Open Market Committee began its two-day policy meeting today, with results and Chairman Jerome Powell's post-meeting press conference set for Wednesday afternoon U.S. hours.

While no one is expecting a change in interest rates, traders will be looking for signs that the Fed is perhaps turning a hair more dovish given recent market turbulence and a slowdown in inflation.

The market action on Tuesday, however, suggests nervousness the Fed may not yet be ready to ease policy further. After all, the downturn in inflation seen in February wasn't that large and it was just one report. And the dip in markets — though painful for many — has also been pretty modest given the impressive run higher in recent years.

According to CME FedWatch, rate traders today see no chance the Fed cuts rates tomorrow and only a 20% chance the central bank eases at its next meeting in May. For June, though, there's a 66% chance that the Fed will cut rates.

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Asia Morning Briefing: Fed Cut Brings Little Volatility as Bitcoin Waits for Japan

Aerial view of Tokyo (Jaison Lin/Unsplash, modified by CoinDesk)

CryptoQuant data shows seller exhaustion as whales pull back from exchanges, while traders prepare for a closely watched BOJ meeting that could influence global liquidity.

What to know:

  • Bitcoin remains stable above $91,000 as the Federal Reserve cuts rates by 25 basis points.
  • Market attention shifts to Japan, where a rate hike is expected at the upcoming Bank of Japan meeting.
  • Gold prices rise following the Fed's rate cut, while silver hits a record due to strong demand and tight supply.