Bitcoin Sinks Below $58K, Crypto Market Drops 9% in Run-Up to Fed Decision

• Bitcoin fell in line with the wider crypto market, with ether and other altcoins also declining.

• Financial markets have been dogged by risk-off sentiment in the run-up to the Fed’s interest-rate decision and press conference later today.

Bitcoin (BTC) sank below $58,000 during the European morning on Wednesday to the lowest level since the end of February as the world’s largest cryptocurrency recorded its worst month since November 2022.

BTC has fallen almost 9% in the last 24 hours having dropped below the $60,000 support level late on Tuesday. The wider crypto market, as measured by the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), has lost more than 8.5%.

Cryptocurrencies have been dogged by risk-off sentiment in the broader financial markets amid a stagflationary feel in the U.S. following indications of slower growth and sticky inflation that have tapered hopes of an interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The Federal Open Market Committee is due to give its latest rate decision later today.

Ether (ETH) also slipped some 9% while some of the other major altcoins, such as solana (SOL), dogecoin (DOGE) and avalanche (AVAX) registered losses in excess of 10%.

Bitcoin fell in April, returning its first monthly loss since August. The 16% decline was the worst since November 2022, when crypto exchange FTX imploded.