Fed Holds Rates at 3.5%-3.75%, Bitcoin Below 75,000

The Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate steady at 3.5 to 3.75 percent on April 29, marking the third consecutive pause this year amid elevated inflation and geopolitical uncertainty, prompting Bitcoin to slide below 75,000 before stabilizing around that level.

The decision came in a sharply divided vote, the most fractured since 1992. Eight officials supported maintaining the target range, one favored an immediate cut, and three others dissented against retaining language suggesting future easing. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, in his final policy briefing before his term ends on May 15, linked persistent inflation to higher global energy prices driven by tensions in the Middle East. He noted headline personal consumption expenditures inflation at 3.5 percent through March and core at 3.2 percent, with oil prices expected to push overall inflation higher in the near term. Brent crude averaged 103 dollars per barrel in March and has climbed above 100 dollars since, with forecasts pointing to a second-quarter peak near 115 dollars.

Bitcoin entered the meeting near 77,000 after a recent rally but fell to an intraday low of about 74,900 following the announcement,...