Bitcoin recovered to $93,000 on Thursday as traders digested the Fed’s decision, but altcoins mostly did not participate in the rebound.
Falling to $89,000 after the Federal Reserve cut rates on Wednesday and a sharply lower opening in U.S. stocks, bitcoin was recently trading at $93,000, up slightly over the past 24 hours.
Altcoins mostly hold on to early losses, with Cardano’s ADA and Avalanche’s AVAX (AVAX), leading the decliners, down 6-7%. Ether was down 3% on the day, holding above $3,200.
Bitcoin’s late-day rebound was accompanied by similar action in US stocks, with the Nasdaq managing to close down just 0.25% after falling 1.5%. The S&P 500 closed modestly in the green and the DJIA gained 1.3%.
The day’s biggest gain came from precious metals, with silver rising 5% to a new all-time high of $64 an ounce and gold rising more than 1% to near $4,300. This progression was favored by the slide of the US dollar index (DXY) to its lowest level since mid-October.
Crypto exchange Gemini stood out among crypto stocks, gaining more than 30% on news that it had received regulatory approval to offer prediction markets in the United States.
Crypto diverges from stocks
Jasper De Maere, a strategist at trading firm Wintermute, said Thursday’s action reinforced crypto’s growing decoupling from stocks, particularly around macro catalysts.
“Only 18% of sessions last year saw BTC outperform Nasdaq on macro days,” he noted. “Yesterday fit this pattern: stocks rallied while cryptocurrencies sold off, suggesting that the rate cut has been fully priced in and marginal easing is no longer providing support.”
De Maere added that the first signs of stagflation concerns appear in the first half of 2026 and markets begin to shift away from Fed policy towards US crypto regulation as the next major driver.
Bitcoin Selling Pressure Diminishes
Analytics firm Swissblock noted that the downward pressure on bitcoin is running out of steam, with the market stabilizing but not yet out of the woods.
“The second wave of sales is weaker than the first and the selling pressure is not intensifying,” the company said in an X article. “There are signs of stabilization…but no confirmation.”
