Bitcoin maintains $40K support as Fed confirms rate hike in 4 years
Bitcoin (BTC) held $40,000 on March 17 after an anticipated key interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve delivered a strong response.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD climbing to local highs of $41,500 after the Fed announced it would raise rates by 25 basis points to 0.5% — the first such move since 2018.
The Federal Open Market Committe (FOMC) voted almost unanimously for the raise, with an accompanying statement warning of persisting "upward pressure on inflation" thanks specifically to the war in Ukraine.
"The invasion of Ukraine by Russia is causing tremendous human and economic hardship," it read.
Going forward, there would be further hikes, the FOMC continued, and the Fed would begin reducing its asset holdings in a bid to decrease its record high balance sheet.
"The Committee's assessments will take into account a wide range of information, including readings on public health, labor market conditions, inflation pressures and inflation expectations, and financial and international developments," the statement added about possible future changes to policy.
After its initial bullish reaction, Bitcoin consolidated higher overnight, still circling $41,000 at the time of writing.
For Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe, the area just below $40,000 was now essential to flip to support.
"The good reaction of the markets here, in which it broke through $39.6K," he told Twitter followers on the day.
Those levels were already well established as rungs on the ladder spanning Bitcoin's 2022 trading range between $33,000 and $46,000, with an analyst this week arguing that only a move outside the top or bottom boundary would be significant.
On traditional markets, optimism also remained,
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