Virtual assets hold steady as the US Federal Reserve freezes interest rates [Decenter Market Status]

As the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) has frozen the benchmark interest rate as expected, the virtual asset market is showing a steady trend. Bitcoin (BTC) temporarily dropped to the $103,000 range after Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference, which reconfirmed a cautious stance on interest rate cuts, but quickly recovered its decline.
According to the global virtual asset market site CoinMarketCap on the 19th, BTC was traded at $104,854.16 as of 8 a.m., up 0.58% from the previous day. The altcoin leader Ethereum (ETH) recorded $2,526, up 0.58%. XRP was traded at $2.17 per coin, up 0.96% from the previous day. Solana (SOL) recorded $147.49, up 0.2%.

At the domestic exchange Bithumb, BTC recorded 145,294,000 won, up 0.06% from the previous day. ETH was up 0.69% to 3,499,000 won, and XRP was trading at 3,005 won, up 0.47%.



The Fed kept the benchmark interest rate at 4.25-4.50% at the June Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on the 18th (local time). As the interest rate freeze was already expected before the meeting, it did not significantly impact the market. However, after the press conference, where Chair Powell stated that he would maintain a wait-and-see stance for the time being, major virtual asset prices temporarily dropped before rebounding.

Chair Powell reaffirmed that an interest rate cut would not be appropriate in a situation where the Trump administration's tariff policy's impact on inflation is uncertain. He said, "We are in a good position to wait until we understand more about the future course of the economy before reviewing policy adjustments."

Meanwhile, due to heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the Crypto Fear and Greed Index by alternative asset data analysis company Alternative.me plummeted 16 points from the previous day to 52 points, transitioning to a 'neutral' state. This index indicates that the closer it is to 0, the more constrained the investment sentiment, and the closer to 100, the more overheated the market is.

Reporter Kim Jung-woo