Bitcoin Falls 2% to $79,800 Ahead of Fed Meeting This Week

Key Facts

Bitcoin fell nearly 2% to about $79,800 during Asian morning hours on Monday, October 26, as traders reduced risk ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting. CoinDesk quoted Jeff Mei, chief operating officer at BTSE, as saying investors are watching for signals from the Fed on the rate path after this week’s decision. Mei said: "The Fed is unlikely to change interest rates this week, but we are watching how strongly the chair hints at a hike in December; that is what matters for cryptocurrencies." The price cited in the CoinDesk report reflects trading during the Asian morning, while EL7 data showed a daily close of $79,698.8 on October 26. Bitcoin had closed at $84,093.42 on October 21, putting Monday’s close at a lower level over the period between the two dates.

Losses spread to other cryptocurrencies during Monday trading, with Ethereum down nearly 3% to just above $2,300. XRP lost about 3% to $1.28, while SOL fell 2%. Dogecoin, Zcash, Hyperliquid and BNB also declined by between 1% and 2%, according to CoinDesk. The broad retreat coincided with traders reducing their risk exposure ahead of the Fed meeting, the report said, citing Mei. The moves follow Bitcoin’s closing price decline from $84,093.42 on October 21 to $79,698.8 on October 26, according to EL7 data.

Similar pressure appeared in Asian markets, where South Korea’s Kospi fell 1% on Monday. The decline came after Goldman Sachs analysts cut their 12-month target for the index by 25%. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.1%, and the MSCI Asia-Pacific index also declined by the same amount, according to CoinDesk. In the previous U.S. session, on Friday, October 23, the S&P 500 fell 0.5%, the Dow Jones declined 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.2%. By contrast, Brent crude rose 3.1% in that session to $116.72 a barrel, according to the Associated Press, diverging from the performance of stocks.

U.S. inflation data provide the backdrop to the Fed meeting. The consumer price index rose 0.6% in September, following a 0.4% increase in August, and was up 3.7% in the 12 months through September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The energy index rose 5.2% during the month, while the gasoline index climbed 9.1%. The index excluding food and energy increased 0.3% in September and 2.6% year over year through the end of the month. At its September meeting, the Fed raised its target range for interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.75%-4.00% on September 16, in a 12-to-zero vote. The Fed said inflation remained elevated and that its decision supported a return to its 2% goal.

Minutes of the September meeting showed that most participants viewed another increase in the target range as potentially appropriate by the end of the year, with future decisions tied to incoming information. In the September projections, participants’ median estimate for personal consumption expenditures inflation was 3.7% for 2026, while the median projection for the federal funds rate at year-end was 4.1%. Those projections concern the personal consumption expenditures index, while the September figures cited above measure the consumer price index. The Associated Press said markets expect rates to hold at the October meeting, while still anticipating another increase in December amid the Fed’s concern about inflation. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell to 4.97% on Monday, from 5.00% at Friday’s close, after topping 5.30% earlier in the month, according to the same report.

The Federal Open Market Committee meets on October 27 and 28, according to the Fed calendar, with investors focused on whether the chair will signal the possibility of a rate hike in December. Minutes of the October meeting are scheduled for release on November 18, ahead of the next policy meeting, set for December 8 and 9. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will also release the October consumer price index on November 10 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. These dates follow September’s increase in monthly and annual inflation, while minutes of the previous meeting showed that most participants saw another increase as potentially appropriate by year-end. The October meeting gives investors an opportunity to track the rate decision and the Fed’s signals, with price data and the meeting minutes providing two subsequent updates before the December meeting.