Bitcoin rises as the Fed hikes rates

The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%, ending a run of five consecutive meetings without a change and delivering its first increase since July 2023. The decision places U.S. monetary policy back at the center of crypto market attention, as higher borrowing costs can reduce appetite for risk-sensitive assets and raise the cost of leverage across financial markets.

Federal Reserve Chair Wash linked the September increase to stronger recent economic data, inflation that remained above the central bank’s 2% annual target through the summer, and a reassessment of geopolitical conditions. The move arrives alongside renewed political pressure for sharply lower rates, with President Donald Trump calling for borrowing costs to fall to 1% or less.

Bitcoin rose 0.74% over the past 24 hours, while Ethereum added 0.16%, according to the market figures provided. XRP gained 1.89% and Solana rose 0.25%. The relatively restrained moves among the largest cryptocurrencies contrasted with much sharper gains in several smaller tokens, including ONE, LSK and ZEC.

Rate increase reopens debate over liquidity

A quarter-point increase is modest by the standards of the Fed’s previous tightening cycle, but it reverses the direction implied by five unchanged decisions. For digital-asset markets, the immediate issue is whether the Fed regards the latest inflation and growth data as a temporary obstacle or evidence that rates must stay restrictive for longer.

Higher benchmark rates flow through to consumer and business credit, government borrowing and market financing. Crypto traders are especially sensitive to changing liquidity conditions because leveraged positions, stablecoin borrowing and speculative demand often expand more rapidly when dollar funding is cheap.

Trump’s calls for rates at 1% or below point in the opposite direction. He also said that ending U.S. trade with countries where the United States runs trade deficits could generate at least $1.5 trillion annually. The statements add a political dimension to the rate debate, though the Federal Reserve sets monetary policy independently from the White House.

The market response so far was uneven rather than broadly risk-off. Dogecoin fell 0.28%, while BNB rose 0.16% and Uniswap’s UNI token gained 0.25%. Near Protocol’s NEAR advanced 5.22%, whereas Arbitrum’s ARB declined 1.87%.

ZEC reaches a new high as smaller tokens lead gains

ZEC briefly traded above $1,385 overnight, setting a new all-time high before later changing hands around $1,334. The token’s intraday gain was reported at more than 18%, placing it among the most active major moves of the session.

The broader list of 24-hour gainers was led by ONE, up 56.72%, followed by LSK at 24.41%, ZEC at 23.57% and IOST at 22.89%. DASH rose 17.67%, while LIT, VVV, RAY and DGB also posted double-digit gains. NEAR appeared on both the large-cap performance list and the leading-movers list, with the latter showing a 14.76% advance.

Such concentrated moves can reflect thin liquidity, short-position liquidations, token-specific catalysts or a combination of those factors. They also show that a relatively calm performance from Bitcoin and Ethereum does not necessarily translate into quiet conditions across the rest of the digital-asset market.

House tax bill advances with broad committee support

In Washington, the House Ways and Means Committee approved the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act by a 38-5 vote, sending the proposal to the full House for consideration. The bill would establish a $10 de minimis exemption for small digital-asset payments and set out tax treatment for income recognition, asset transfers, wash-sale rules, mining, staking and broker-related reporting requirements.

The committee vote gives the proposal a clearer path than many crypto tax initiatives have had in previous sessions, although House approval would be only one step in the legislative process. The $10 payment exemption is particularly narrow, limiting its practical use for ordinary purchases, but it could reduce record-keeping friction for very small transactions.

The bill’s treatment of staking, mining and transfers could have more lasting effects for users and businesses that face uncertainty over when taxable income arises and how transactions should be reported. Its progress also comes as seven Democratic senators were reported to be working on a bipartisan effort to advance the Clarity Act, a separate market-structure proposal.

The House Financial Services Committee separately advanced the American Reserve Modernization Act by a 28-21 vote. Together, the committee actions show that digital-asset policy is moving through several channels in Congress rather than being confined to one comprehensive bill.

Dormant Bitcoin transfers and Celsius litigation draw attention

Monitoring cited in public reporting found that 3,790 Bitcoin from wallets dated between 2010 and 2017 moved during the first half of September. One address dating to 2013 transferred 113 BTC, valued at roughly $8.8 million, while the largest reported movement involved 1,260 BTC from a 2016 wallet on Sept. 6.

The reported data showed that 62% of September’s dormant-coin movements occurred on weekends. Transfers from long-inactive wallets can attract attention because they involve coins held through multiple market cycles, though a blockchain movement alone does not establish whether the holder intends to sell, reorganize custody or transfer assets privately.

Celsius’s bankruptcy estate has also filed suit seeking to recover 6,360 BTC, valued at about $495 million, over forced liquidations during the March 2020 market crash. The filing alleges that 1,325.84 BTC was lost in a March 12, 2020 liquidation, followed by losses connected to a fund transfer involving 5,034.33 BTC the next day. The claims remain allegations pending court proceedings.

Arc integrations extend USDC distribution

Robinhood said it will support Circle’s Layer-1 network Arc, allowing USDC deposits and withdrawals on supported networks. Uniswap said its v2, v3, v4 and UniswapX products have integrated Arc, creating an early distribution channel for the network across retail access and decentralized trading infrastructure.

Uniswap also added trading for cirBTC and said its Pools product will operate as Arc’s token-issuance platform. Under that design, tokens would enter USDC-paired Uniswap v4 pools with permanent liquidity locks and an optional one-hour Crowd Launch mechanism.

The integrations give Arc a route into existing trading and liquidity systems from its launch phase. Their usefulness will depend on supported networks, available liquidity and whether developers choose to build applications that use USDC settlement on the chain.

Elsewhere, Deadstock raised $2.5 million in seed funding led by Bullish Capital for an on-chain marketplace and liquidity layer for physical goods on Arbitrum. Tare raised $13.25 million in a Blockchain Capital-led seed round to build loan-management software on Avalanche.

Prediction markets and AI companies pursue larger valuations

Kalshi is seeking at least $750 million in funding at a reported $40 billion valuation, up from $22 billion six months earlier. As of Sept. 4, Kalshi reported $14.1 billion in volume over the previous 30 days, compared with $3.1 billion for Polymarket. Sports accounted for more than 80% of Kalshi’s volume.

The figures place regulated event-contract platforms in more direct competition for sports-related trading activity, while also raising questions over whether volumes remain durable outside major sporting calendars.

AI agent startup Instinct was reported to be discussing a $1 billion funding round at an approximately $10 billion valuation after surpassing 100,000 users. PitchBook data showed that Spear Street Technology raised $250 million at a $2.25 billion pre-money valuation, bringing its total funding to $350 million. The funding activity underscores the continuing competition for capital between crypto-native infrastructure, prediction markets and AI-focused software businesses.