What to know:
- Ether led major cryptocurrency gains with a 7% increase in the past 24 hours as traders anticipate the outcome of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
- Bitcoin remains steady under $84,000, with traders closely monitoring the $80,000 mark as a crucial support level.
- Gold reached new all-time highs above $3,000, prompting analysis about its inverse correlation with Bitcoin, which is currently swayed by Fed policy uncertainty and a shifting preference towards traditional safe-havens.
Ether (ETH) surged nearly 7% over the last day, outpacing other cryptocurrencies as traders awaited the FOMC meeting outcomes. The rise in ETH was also supported by a 4% increase in Dogecoin (DOGE), with several Ethereum-based memecoins such as PEPE and MOG seeing gains of more than 5%.
Other major cryptocurrencies including XRP, BNB, Solana’s SOL, and Cardano’s ADA registered increases of 3%. However, Tron’s TRX witnessed a decline after a previous 5% surge earlier in the day.
Currently, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading slightly up by 2%, maintaining levels under $84,000 in the Asian market hours ahead of the FOMC meeting; traders expect rates to remain stable.
The ETH/BTC trading ratio has climbed from 0.23 to 0.24, reflecting an increased appetite for riskier assets like ETH compared to Bitcoin’s perceived security.
While ETH ascended without a specific immediate trigger, the Ethereum network is undergoing preparations for the upcoming Pectra upgrade, aimed at enhancing scalability and user experience with multiple upcoming EIPs, including EIP-7702 and EIP-7251.
Testing of the upgrade began in February 2025, encountering some challenges, although a new testnet called Holesky was launched recently.
“BTC has found some support at the $80K, but that seems tenuous at best amid broader macro weakness,”
- Ryan Lee, Chief Analyst at Bitget Research.
Lee asserts, “We expect the Fed to remain in ‘wait-and-see’ mode, while any shift in policy could significantly impact Bitcoin’s future trajectory.”
Additionally, as gold’s price heads northward, it is essential to note Bitcoin’s current behavior diverging from traditional patterns, attributing its volatility to varying economic signals.
