Federal Reserve Maintains Key Rate, Bitcoin Reacts with Volatility

On March 19, the United States Federal Reserve kept the key interest rate unchanged within the range of 4.25–4.5%.

The decision aligned with market expectations and the consensus forecast of analysts.

“The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2% over the longer run. Uncertainty regarding the economic outlook has increased. The Committee is attentive to risks on both sides of its dual mandate,” the press release stated.

Following the release of the Fed’s data, Bitcoin halted its upward trend of the past day. After reaching a local high of around $84,800, the leading cryptocurrency briefly dipped below $84,000, but then surged rapidly, nearly breaking the $86,000 level at the time of writing.

Other top-10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization also responded with growth.

“The economy is generally strong. It has made significant progress in achieving our goals over the past two years. Labor market conditions are stable. And inflation has approached our long-term goal of 2%, although it remains somewhat elevated,” said Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at a press conference.

He added that a “significant portion” of inflation is linked to trade tariffs, but the agency will continue to analyze data to separate the effect of tariffs from other factors.

“The path is clear. Quantitative tightening is coming to an end, and [Donald] Trump is going crazy over cryptocurrencies. A bull cycle for altcoins has begun,” noted MN Trading founder Michaël van de Poppe.

In February, annual inflation in the US stood at 2.8% (the lowest since November).