Bitcoin stalls near $75K after Fed cites Middle East

Bitcoin stalled near $75,000 on Wednesday after the Federal Open Market Committee’s minutes confirmed a federal funds target range of 3.5%–3.75% and cited developments in the Middle East as adding uncertainty to the economic outlook.

The minutes reiterated the Fed’s goal of maximum employment and 2% inflation over the longer run and emphasized keeping optionality as policymakers weigh risks to both sides of the dual mandate. Markets had priced in the rate hold, but Bitcoin weakened during Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference and dropped to an intraday low of $74,937, dipping below the 20-day simple moving average of about $75,664.

Hyblock CEO Shubh Varma described the price action as “the usual sell the news reaction after the FOMC” and noted that Bitcoin recovered to pre-announcement levels within hours. He pointed to market microstructure readings: the global bid-ask ratio spiked to 0.3 while open interest fell on the price drop, which he characterized as post-FOMC position squaring and stop-hunt behavior rather than conviction selling.

Technical traders have identified a sequence of confirmations after Bitcoin broke above a channel resistance earlier this month: consecutive daily closes above the trendline followed by a lower retest in the $76,500–$75,500 range. Those conditions briefly occurred, but failure to recapture the 20-day moving average and close back above the trendline leaves the near-term uptrend exposed to a test of the lower boundary of the roughly four-month channel.

On-chain analytics firm Glassnode reported that traders added bearish leverage ahead of the FOMC, citing rising open interest after a rally to about $79,000, neutral funding rates and a divergence between spot and futures cumulative volume delta. Glassnode described Bitcoin as “trapped below market mean,” noting it failed to clear its True Market Mean at $79,000 and reporting a pullback in short-term holder realized profits alongside a flip to net-short positions in margin futures.

Glassnode’s data show inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs and rising open interest on the CME have formed a dense accumulation cluster between $65,000 and $70,000. Market participants will be watching whether Bitcoin can reclaim the 20-day average and close above the daily trendline to determine the short-term direction.