How interest rates impact investments
Interest rates are one of the biggest tools the Fed has for influencing the economy. By lowering rates, the Fed can stimulate economic activity, making it cheaper to borrow. On the other hand, by raising interest rates, the Fed can slow economic activity, making credit more expensive — which is a useful strategy to fight inflation.
The Fed raised rates 11 times during the last tightening cycle starting in 2022, and it’s easy to spot when markets really took notice that the central bank wasn’t kidding about recalibrating monetary policy. It was November 2021 when cryptocurrency and many of the riskiest stocks peaked.
While interest rates were moving higher, many stocks were moving lower, anticipating slower economic conditions. But when investors got a clearer picture of the end of rising rates in 2023, the stock outlook became more optimistic.
Major stock indexes such as the S&P 500 spent most of 2022 in a funk due to rising rates, but they fared well in 2023. The S&P 500 rose about 24% in 2023 and 23% in 2024, and then ended 2025 with a 16% annual return after rebounding from a meltdown over President Trump’s tariffs in April.
In 2022, cryptocurrency prices struggled as interest rates looked to move higher. When rates began to top, crypto prices bottomed and then rose in 2023 and throughout 2024. The introduction of bitcoin ETFs initially helped boost the price of bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies, but prices deteriorated throughout the end of 2025 while other assets, including precious metals took off to new highs.
