Fed's Hawkish Stance Kills Rate-Cut Hopes, Crypto Markets Stall

The recent recovery in crypto markets has stalled after the Federal Reserve's hawkish stance killed rate-cut hopes, leading to a combined outflow of $111 million from Bitcoin and ether ETFs.

Total crypto market value has held steady near $2.26 trillion since Tuesday's close, but the rally is losing momentum as investors digest the Fed's decision to leave interest rates unchanged with updated projections seeing the federal funds rate ending 2026 at 3.8%, up from 3.4% in March.

The hawkish tone of the Fed's statement and press conference weighed on risk assets, but Matthew Pinnock, chief operating officer at Altura DeFi, sees a more constructive read underneath, noting that the posture signals the Fed's confidence in the economy if AI-driven productivity supports growth and inflation stays contained.

BTC derivatives data shows massive put buying at $62,000, signaling weekend caution from whale-sized buyers who are accumulating coins while spot ETFs post outflows.