If you’re still trading crypto like rate hikes don’t matter, stop now.
A lot of traders learn this the expensive way. Liquidity tightens, risk assets wobble, and suddenly that confident
$BTC or
$ETH long looks a lot heavier than expected.
Bank of America now expects the Fed to raise rates by another 0.75% before the end of 2026. That might not sound dramatic, but crypto has a pretty clear history with tightening cycles. Think back to 2022: as rates climbed, liquidity drained and even strong assets like
$BTC and
$ETH spent months grinding down while traders kept buying every dip.
The interesting part is how different the market structure looks today. Spot ETFs exist, institutions are deeper in, and narratives around assets like
$SOL have more capital behind them than last cycle. Yet higher-for-longer rates still compete with risk assets for attention and capital.
So here’s the real question: if the Fed actually pushes another 0.75% higher, does crypto shrug it off this cycle or do we repeat the same liquidity squeeze we saw last time?
#crypto #bitcoin #macro