Bitcoin falls below $65,000 ahead of Fed decision after recent rebound

Bitcoin briefly rose above $64,400 after the Federal Reserve kept its benchmark rate at 3.50%-3.75% on Wednesday, but gave back the move as Chair Kevin Warsh opened his press conference with a hawkish message that there is "no soft inflation target." BTC was trading just under $64,000 at press time, up about 1% over 24 hours, as traders focused less on the widely expected hold and more on Warsh's inflation stance. The decision marked the second meeting under Warsh, who took over this year after President Donald Trump nominated him to replace Jerome Powell. The hold came with an unusual split, as Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan dissented in favor of a 25 basis point hike. Futures had assigned roughly 35% odds to a hike before the meeting, and the pause now stretches to six consecutive meetings. The Fed said inflation remains elevated relative to its 2% goal, partly because of supply shocks including energy, while economic activity continues to expand despite uncertainty tied in part to conflict in the Middle East. Warsh had already told Congress earlier this month that he has "no tolerance" for elevated inflation, and his criticism of forward guidance and the quarterly dot plot has left traders with less visibility into the path ahead of the Sept. 15-16 meeting. Broader market conditions remained uneasy. Oil rose after Trump said the U.S. would respond forcefully to attacks on American personnel in the Middle East, the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.62% near its high for the year, and equities trimmed early losses after the decision before the Nasdaq turned 0.4% lower during Warsh's remarks. Ethereum traded near $1,900 and XRP around $1.06, while total crypto market capitalization stood near $2.29 trillion and the Crypto Fear & Greed Index remained in fear territory at 35. Among individual tokens, KAITO led gains among the top 300 tokens, while Monero, Cardano and Jupiter also advanced. Zcash drew attention after activating its Ironwood upgrade, with about $80 million of ZEC moving to the new shielded pool in the first day. On the downside, DeXe led decliners, and Lorenzo Protocol's BANK extended a sharp reversal after a speculative rally earlier in July.