BTC hovers near 2021 all-time high while gold plunges to $4.7K six-week low
BTC bounced from $69,500 support level, maintaining its elevated trading range while gold spearheaded a macro asset downturn following Federal Reserve policy announcement.
As Thursday's Wall Street trading session commenced, Bitcoin (BTC) staged a recovery from its weekly bottom, with inflation dynamics supporting BTC price resilience.
Key points:
- BTC price movement maintains its current local range situated between 2021 peak levels and 2025 bottom levels.
- Following the Federal Reserve's continuation of a hawkish interest-rate policy approach, gold spearheads a macro asset selloff.
- According to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, future rate reductions hinge on inflation "progress."
BTC faces headwinds following hawkish Fed policy meeting
According to TradingView data, the cryptocurrency dipped to $69,500 during the trading day, bringing BTC/USD to the vicinity of its previous all-time peak from 2021.
Subsequently, the trading pair climbed back over the $70,000 threshold before hovering around the 2021 benchmark, sustaining a story of relative resilience amid diverse macroeconomic headwinds.
Market attention pivoted on Wednesday from Middle Eastern tensions and petroleum prices to United States inflation metrics as the Federal Reserve opted to maintain interest rates at existing levels.
"Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated. The implications of developments in the Middle East for the U.S. economy are uncertain," Chair Jerome Powell said in an official statement.
During his press conference that followed, Powell emphasized that "progress" on inflation metrics would be necessary before rates could be lowered — representing a crucial positive factor for cryptocurrency markets.
"The rate forecast is conditional on the performance of the economy, so if we don't see that progress, you won't see the rate cut," he told reporters.
SUMMARY OF FED DECISION (3/18/2026):
1. Fed halts rate cuts for the second straight meeting
2. Fed projects one rate cut in 2026, one in 2027
3. Fed 2026 PCE inflation forecast revised higher to 2.7%
4. Fed says implications of Middle East developments are "uncertain"
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) March 18, 2026
Given that only one rate reduction is now anticipated for 2026, risk-oriented assets experienced downward pressure following the Fed announcement, with United States equities closing the session down approximately 1.5%.
Market analyst: BTC requires weekly closure around $75,000
Come Thursday morning, however, gold was spearheading the decline, dropping 2.3% to trade beneath $4,700 per ounce for the initial time since Feb. 6.
Not a bad case here. The opposite: Bitcoin is also correcting, and it's correcting less than I would assume.
Consequently, BTC price movement reverted to a corridor defined by the 2021 record high and the 2025 lowest point situated near $74,500.
"$BTC is still rejecting 2025 Yearly Lows. Won't be of significance during the week, need weekly close above there," trader Castillo Trading told X followers on Wednesday.
Van de Poppe said that he would be a "big buyer" of Bitcoin if it were to drop back to the low $60,000 zone.
