The Federal Reserve's decision early yesterday morning appeared to be a calm 'maintaining the interest rate,' but if you only focus on those few lines of the decision statement, you deserve to be liquidated back and forth in the turbulence of $BTC.
Many people saw the Federal Reserve's decision to maintain the federal funds rate in the target range of 3.5% to 3.75% and their first reaction was 'the benefits have fallen short' or 'the rate-cutting cycle has ended.' This linear thinking is simply naive and ridiculous. The real bombshell is not the 'status quo,' but the glaring voting result within the FOMC: 10 to 2.
That's right, even though Powell is still stubbornly saying things like 'economic activity is steadily expanding' and 'inflation is slightly high', Stephen Miran and Christopher Waller, these two board members, directly voted against it, clearly calling for a continued rate cut of 25 basis points. What does this mean? It means that confidence within the Federal Reserve regarding a 'soft landing' has already shown cracks. After experiencing three consecutive cuts at the end of 2025, this pause is not a return of the hawks at all, but rather a fierce game within the Federal Reserve regarding the risks of economic recession. The emergence of differences often heralds a change in trend.
Looking back at the market, $BTC plunged to $89,000 instantly after the decision was announced, and then quickly recovered the losses, stabilizing around $89,300. This is not just a technical support test, but also an excellent 'test' by the major funds. A few days before the decision, there was an outflow of funds from the spot ETF, and large accounts frequently transferred funds into exchanges, creating a market filled with panic over 'selling facts'. The result? Negative news landed, but $BTC couldn't drop. This indicates that the buying strength below $89,000 far exceeds market expectations.
The current macro environment is very delicate: the unemployment rate is stabilizing but job growth is sluggish, inflation is stubborn but the economy hasn't collapsed. This 'neither dead nor alive' state is exactly the kind of washout environment that the main players love. They use this 'pause in rate cuts' to create anxiety, making you think the liquidity feast is over, making you hand over your blood-stained chips.
Don't forget, the current interest rate level of 3.5% is still in a restrictive zone, and the Federal Reserve must walk a tightrope between inflation rebound and economic slowdown. Those two opposing votes are a signal—the urgency to cut rates is much greater than Powell admits. If the upcoming non-farm data shows any signs of trouble or inflation data falls again, the probability of a rate cut at the next meeting will be directly maximized.
For the crypto market, the current sideways movement is the calm before the storm. While the reactions from $ETH and $SOL are lukewarm, this is precisely the money waiting for the evolution of the main storyline. What the major players need is not an immediate surge but rather the repeated expectations of 'pause-cut-pause' to wash out the weak-handed speculators.
So, don't be scared off by the sensational headlines about 'maintaining interest rates'. Keep an eye on those two opposing votes and on the support for $BTC at $89,000. While most are frustrated by the 'no rate cut', the smart money is already positioning for the next release of 25 basis points.
If it were you, would you choose to step back and watch at 89k, or would you take advantage of the panic to increase your position for the next inevitable liquidity release?