Bitcoin advanced nearly 2% to trade just below $81,000 during Wednesday’s Asian session, recovering from its weekend drop toward $79,000 as markets prepared for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate announcement. Major altcoins posted broader gains, while technology stocks continued to rise.
Zcash (ZEC) outperformed other leading cryptocurrencies, surging 8% to approximately $1,320 and climbing back above $1,300 after Monday’s decline. Hyperliquid’s HYPE token gained nearly 5% to around $81. XRP and Dogecoin (DOGE) rose about 3% each, while Ethereum added 2% to move above $2,350. Solana (SOL) increased roughly 2% to $102, and BNB advanced 1%. TRON (TRX) recorded a smaller gain of less than 1%, according to CoinDesk data.
The market recovery came a day after Galaxy encouraged investors to consider building their Bitcoin positions, arguing that the cryptocurrency could be entering a new accumulation phase.
“We think the bear market ended in June and that bitcoin is in the accumulation phase that has preceded every prior advance,” Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy, stated in a note to investors.
Thorn identified June as the likely market bottom, when Bitcoin fell below $58,000. He pointed to BTC’s return above its 50-week moving average, a technical measure based on its average weekly closing prices over the past 50 weeks that traders use to assess longer-term momentum.
He also highlighted reduced selling pressure and growing U.S. government debt as supporting factors. Still, the outlook remains notably bullish given Bitcoin’s ongoing struggle to hold above the $80,000 threshold.
The next major catalyst is the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement and the subsequent press conference with Chair Kevin Warsh. Traders will be watching for signals about the possibility of another interest rate increase in December.
A further rate hike could put pressure on cryptocurrencies by raising borrowing costs and making riskier investments less attractive. As investors reassess their portfolios in response to tighter monetary policy, digital assets could face renewed selling pressure.
