Bitcoin above $28K ahead of Fed rate hike decision

The Fed will announce how far — if at all — it will increase its baseline interest rate on March 22, with a pause in the hiking cycle seen as a boon-in-waiting for risk assets

Bitcoin headed to new nine-month highs after the March 21 Wall Street open as a key Federal Reserve interest rate decision loomed.

According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, BTC/USD was nearing $28,500 on Bitstamp.

The latest in a series of multimonth highs, the latest BTC price action comes before what promises to be a volatile day for markets.

The Fed will announce how far — if at all — it will increase its baseline interest rate on March 22, with a pause in the hiking cycle seen as a boon-in-waiting for risk assets.

Heavily interested to see the result of tomorrow, Michaël van de Poppe, founder and Chief Executive Officer of trading firm Eight, wrote in part of a Twitter update.

Potential sweep into the highs, closing CME gap, trapping everyone and creating bearish divergences is an ideal concept. Key zone $28,700, he stated.

Bitcoin nevertheless produced interesting moves on March 21, with the dollar advances coming alongside volatility in overall crypto market cap dominance.

Altcoins bleeding, while Bitcoin is still consolidating around the highs. Not the signs you would want to see, Van de Poppe cautioned previously.

Money rotating from altcoins towards Bitcoin amid concerns for tomorrow’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. I would stay comparatively calm on positions as well. Obvious opportunities will come up, he stated.

The ensuing drop after the Wall Street open was described by popular trader Crypto Tony as an “interesting dump on bitcoin dominance creating a spike in Altcoins.”

The mixed signals mirrored market ideas for the FOMC meeting. As per CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, most now expect a 25-basis-point rate hike, as against the pause favoured earlier.