The U.S. Federal Reserve’s 0.25 percentage-point rate increase initially pressured cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin briefly falling into the $75,000 range and ether and other major altcoins weakening. Bitcoin later recovered above $80,000 and gained more than 5% on the 22nd, briefly exceeding $86,000, while ether and XRP rose about 3% and 7%. Historical data compiled by Seoul Economic Daily show that Bitcoin fell an average of 6.29% in the month after Fed rate increases from 2022 through 2026, compared with declines of 4.35% for ether and 5.44% for XRP. Analysts say the latest decision may have had a smaller immediate effect because markets had already priced in much of the increase, while the liquidation of about $750 million in short positions helped amplify the rebound. The longer-term effect remains unclear, particularly as the Fed has left open the possibility of further tightening and its median year-end benchmark-rate projection rose to 4.1%.