Bitcoin slipped below $80,000 on Tuesday, trading near $79,700 and down 0.4 percent since midnight UTC, as the Federal Reserve opened a two-day policy meeting with a decision due Wednesday. Ether fell 0.5 percent, while a broader index of decentralized-finance tokens dropped 1.8 percent.
By MacroHerald’s own measurement at 11:58 GMT, bitcoin stood at $79,763, down 0.76 percent from the previous close and its lowest level in 31 days. Ether was at $2,311.22 in the same reading, down 0.89 percent and also at a 31-day low.
Fed decision looms
CME FedWatch data showed traders assigning roughly a 90 percent probability that the Fed will leave rates unchanged this week. Attention is turning instead to any signal on a further increase before year-end. US stock index futures edged lower ahead of big-tech earnings, while oil rose to about $102 a barrel and South Korea’s Kospi climbed 3.1 percent.
Spot bitcoin ETFs in the United States pulled in $110 million in net inflows on Monday, ending two days of outflows. Crypto futures volume over the prior 24 hours reached $152 billion, up 18 percent, while open interest rose 0.95 percent. Liquidations fell 13 percent to $133 million, with the taker long ratio at 49.54 percent against 50.46 percent short.
Altcoins and token moves
CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season index rose to 57 from 53. Zcash co-founder Sean Bowe proposed ending the arrangement under which 8 percent of newly created coins fund community grants; the project’s Treasury was put at $125 million.
Aave’s decentralized autonomous organization has not bought back tokens since April.
Related: Bitcoin dips below $80,000, then rebounds near $82,000 · Bitcoin slips below $80,000 as traders brace for Fed decision
Source: Federal Reserve | Data: CoinGecko
