Risk-Off Mode: Crypto Slumps Ahead of the Fed
The crypto market moved lower on Tuesday. Bitcoin slumped to around $112,000 after experiencing a sell-off earlier in the month, while Ether also fell by around 5% to around $3,900, and most major altcoins also fell, pushing the total crypto market capitalization down by around 1%. Market participants appeared cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, resulting in slightly lower short-term risk appetite, although Bitcoin still recorded gains compared to its mid-October low.
Fundamentally, the broader narrative remains bullish. Market expectations are that the Fed will cut interest rates by another 25 basis points, meaning liquidity conditions could loosen further—something that typically benefits riskier assets like crypto. Furthermore, institutional capital inflows remain strong: US Bitcoin ETFs recorded billions of dollars in inflows in October, led by BlackRock, and now hold a historically large portion of the BTC supply. Regulation is also maturing after US authorities simplified the approval process for new crypto ETFs, not only for Bitcoin and Ethereum but also for other assets.
For altcoins, selective movements are beginning to emerge. Stellar (XLM) actually rose more than 2%, supported by institutional interest in blockchain-based payment infrastructure. Meanwhile, the market remains sensitive to geopolitical headlines: in early October, a US-China trade policy shock wiped hundreds of billions of dollars off crypto valuations in just two days, demonstrating that macro volatility remains a key risk. With the combination of the Fed's interest rate cut, institutional capital inflows, and a clearer regulatory agenda, many analysts believe the medium-term sentiment bias remains positive despite the choppy short-term outlook.
Source: Newsmaker.id
