Bitcoin Stalls at $90K Post-FOMC, Cardano Sinks 8% in Market Shake-Up

TL;DR:

Bitcoin jumped above $94,000 after the Fed’s third 0.25% rate cut before sliding back toward $90,200 in a post meeting whipsaw move.
BTC’s market cap slipped to about $1.8 trillion even as dominance climbed past 57%, showing policy shifts pressuring prices but lifting relative share.
Cardano fell 10% to $0.42, other majors dropped 6% to 8%, while HASH and M rose as total crypto value slid 2.2% to $3.17 trillion.

Bitcoin’s latest reaction to the Federal Reserve has left traders in a holding pattern, as the benchmark cryptocurrency faded from another upside attempt and settled near the $90,000 mark, underscoring how a fresh rate cut and a familiar burst of volatility have so far produced consolidation rather than a decisive breakout for the market’s flagship asset. At the same time, pressure across majors intensified, with Cardano taking the hardest hit among large caps.

FOMC whipsaw keeps BTC rangebound as altcoins absorb the shock

Following the Federal Open Market Committee’s decision to deliver a third 0.25% rate reduction this year, lowering the target band to 3.50% to 3.75%, Bitcoin initially spiked above $94,000 before bears reasserted control, driving an intraday swing that pushed the price down to around $89,600 before stabilizing close to $90,200 in what looks like another classic post meeting whipsaw pattern. The move shaved the coin’s market capitalization to roughly $1.8 trillion even as its dominance climbed above 57% for traders across the digital asset complex.

Bitcoin jumped above $94,000 after the Fed’s third 0.25% rate cut before sliding back toward $90,200 in a post meeting whipsaw move.

The price action highlighted how macro catalysts can jolt crypto order books without immediately changing the trend, with some observers on X noting that similar FOMC day pullbacks this year eventually gave way to strong upside legs as rate cuts filtered into risk appetite and liquidity conditions. For now, markets are left debating whether the latest policy shift is already fully priced in or merely setting the stage for the next leg of the cycle.

Altcoins, meanwhile, bore the brunt of the adjustment. Cardano emerged as the session’s underperformer, dropping about 10% on the day to trade near $0.42 and cementing its status as the weakest name in the top 100 cohort as the post FOMC shake out rippled through speculative pockets of the market. Pump.fun’s PUMP token, Ethena’s ENA, Avalanche, Polkadot, Internet Computer and Dogecoin also slipped between 6% and 8%, extending a rotation out of higher beta names.

Losses were not universal, however, and pockets of resilience remained visible beneath the red heatmap, with Provenance Blockchain’s HASH token adding roughly 8% and MemeCore’s M advancing 4% even as aggregate crypto capitalization slipped by 2.2% to approximately $3.17 trillion on the day. That divergence offered a reminder that idiosyncratic narratives and protocol specific flows can still generate relative winners, even on days when macro forces and policy signals dominate the tape.