Rate Hikes Will Continue but Peak This Year, Fed Minutes Show

Central bankers see more interest rate hikes, and recent economic data backs them up

article-image

Triff/Shutterstock.com modified by Blockworks.

share

Crypto faltered and stocks traded sideways after Federal Reserve minutes revealed the central bank has more room to hike interest rates to combat rampant inflation. 

“All participants” see interest rate increases continuing in order to ease financial market conditions, the minutes, released Wednesday, show. 

Bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) trended lower on the news, dropping 2.3% and 2.5%, respectively. Stocks were more steady, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes inching 0.2% and 0.5% higher in the moments after the release. 

Bitcoin was still hovering below $24,000 Wednesday afternoon in New York, failing to break a key resistance level analysts are watching. 

“If the $25,500 is reached, momentum traders might try to support a rally towards the psychological $30,000 level,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, said in a note. “If bearish momentum returns, Bitcoin has strong support at the $22,500 region.” 

At its Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Feb. 1, the Fed opted for yet another interest rate increase — the central bank’s eighth consecutive move. 

​​“The Committee anticipates that ongoing increases in the target range will be appropriate in order to attain a stance of monetary policy that is sufficiently restrictive to return inflation to 2 percent over time,” FOMC members wrote in a statement at the end of their two-day policy meeting. 

In the weeks since the Fed’s meeting, economic data has not shown signs of hitting the key levels Fed Chair Jerome Powell has insisted upon seeing. Inflation remains persistent, with economists fearing a plateau may have been reached. And a hot labor market shows consumer spending is strong. 

The Fed is next scheduled to meet in March and will release its latest interest rate decision on March 22. Until then, investors will be watching for jobless claims and inflation readings. 

As of Wednesday, futures markets were still pricing in a 76% chance of a 25 basis point increase in March, according to data from CME Group.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
  • Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

tg trading bot report graphic.png

Research

Telegram trading bots have found their primary niche in highly speculative token launches and retail-dominated memecoin markets, with many features specifically tailored to token sniping and copy-trading strategies.

article-image

Ethereum is hoping that increased DA will grow user demand — and its profits through DA fees

article-image

11 years ago, Bitcoin contributors prevented a supply crisis… two centuries from now

article-image

Both samczsun and ZachXBT have issued warnings after the Bybit hack last month

article-image

The investor criticized Michael Saylor’s plan to render his personal bitcoin holdings inaccessible to anyone else forever

article-image

The exchange has structural defenses and protocols to limit manipulations

article-image

Upshift is being spun out of August, which raised $10 million earlier this month