macroeconomics

Bitcoin’s Post-FOMC Rollercoaster Continues as NEAR Dumps 8%: Market Watch

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Bitcoin moved sharply after the Federal Reserve kept rates unchanged, briefly jumping before sliding back toward $80,000. Altcoins also weakened, with NEAR and Bitcoin Cash among the largest decliners in the market snapshot.

Key claims & sources

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Bitcoin dropped below $80,000 after the Fed decision, while the altcoin market turned red across most large names.
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Bitcoin Cash and NEAR led the day’s losses, and BTW moved against the broader trend.
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The Federal Reserve kept rates steady at 3.75% to 4%, and Bitcoin later moved back toward $80,000 after a brief climb toward $81,800.
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NEAR and Bitcoin Cash were among the biggest losers in the initial market snapshot, with both falling by about 8%.

What it means

The Federal Reserve’s rate decision sits at the center of this move because it gives traders a fresh macro reference point for risk assets, including Bitcoin and major altcoins. Bitcoin’s jump and reversal around the $80,000 to $81,800 range shows how closely crypto still tracks broader liquidity expectations on Fed days. For readers, this is another reminder that crypto markets can reprice quickly around US monetary-policy announcements even when the decision itself is widely expected.

For traders and holders of large alt positions, the immediate takeaway is that NEAR and Bitcoin Cash were hit harder than Bitcoin in this session, while names such as Ether, XRP, Solana and Zcash also weakened. That kind of dispersion matters because it forces market participants to watch not just the headline BTC move but the relative performance of individual tokens after macro events. It also shows that a single policy update can ripple through the market without every asset reacting the same way.

The bigger issue is the degree to which a central-bank announcement can still reshape crypto prices in minutes, even though Bitcoin is often marketed as a separate system from traditional finance. This keeps the sector tied to the same macro calendar as stocks and bonds, which can help liquidity but also brings the same instability that traders try to escape. The contrast between BTC’s wobble and BTW’s outperformance also shows that narrow pockets of strength can exist inside a broadly risk-off tape.

Market reaction i

BitcoinBTC the event is about this asset
first headline
+0.1% 2 h before
0.0% 4 h after
$80,100price at publication
12data points

The move was larger before the first headline than after. That is an observation, not an explanation: the market also moves on things nobody publishes.

Coverage timeline

Every piece in order, with the time its news medium declares — if it is not believable we use ours and say so — and what it added to what was already known at that point. Arriving first is not the same as adding something.

first
Oct 29 10:05
+2 h 12 m
Oct 29 12:17
Crypto Economy adds
Adds $2680B; brings into the story: BCH

What Federal funds rate has done before

WhenWhat happenedFigure
2 months ago Federal funds rate: 3.75 (+0.12) rise Sep 2026
3 months ago Federal funds rate: 3.63 no change Aug 2026
4 months ago Federal funds rate: 3.63 no change Jul 2026
5 months ago Federal funds rate: 3.63 no change Jun 2026
6 months ago Federal funds rate: 3.63 (-0.01) fall May 2026

FRED series, with the value of each release and its change.

What could happen next i

Fed Decision in December? Polymarket · settles Dec 9 · $2.7M bet in 24 h
76% 25 bps increase ▼ 1 pts in 24 h
  • 25 bps increase ▼1 76%
  • No change ▲1 22%
  • 50+ bps increase 2%
  • 25 bps decrease <1%
25 bps increase, last 13 days