Federal Reserve Starts Two-Day FOMC Meeting With No Rate Change Expected

Markets are pricing in a near-zero probability of a policy move before the Federal Reserve’s decision and Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Summary

The Federal Reserve has begun its two-day Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC (Federal Reserve policy-setting committee), meeting, with markets assigning a near-zero chance of an interest-rate change. The policy decision and a press conference by Chair Jerome Powell are scheduled for Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time. For crypto markets, Federal Reserve decisions matter because interest-rate expectations influence liquidity, risk appetite, and the relative attractiveness of assets such as Bitcoin and other digital tokens.

Terms & Concepts
  • FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee): The Federal Reserve’s policy-setting committee that decides U.S. interest-rate policy and guides broader monetary conditions.
  • Interest-rate decision: A central bank announcement on whether borrowing costs will be raised, lowered, or left unchanged, often shaping market sentiment across stocks and crypto.
  • Market pricing: The implied probability investors assign to an event, based on trading activity across financial markets.