The Federal Reserve’s minutes from its June 16-17 meeting are set to drop on July 8 at 2:00 p.m. ET, and crypto markets are treating the release like a ticking time bomb. With the federal funds rate currently parked at 3.5% to 3.75% and inflation running at 4.2%, the central bank’s internal deliberations could signal whether rate hikes are coming, and how aggressively.
Bitcoin has already voted with its feet. After trading in the $65,000 to $66,000 range before the June FOMC announcement, BTC slid to between $63,850 and $64,400 in the aftermath. Ethereum wasn’t spared either, falling toward the $1,730 to $1,750 zone.
What changed at the June meeting
The headline decision was to hold rates steady. That part wasn’t surprising. What caught markets off guard was the tone.
New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, presiding over his inaugural FOMC meeting, delivered what amounted to a hawkish reset. He leaned hard into “price stability” rhetoric while conspicuously omitting any forward guidance on potential easing.
