Bitcoin climbs above $81,000 as traders await Fed rate decision

Bitcoin rose 2% to just over $81,000 during Wednesday’s Asian trading session, recovering from a dip below $80,000 on Monday. The rally followed a note from Galaxy Digital urging accumulation of Bitcoin and coincided with traders positioning for the Federal Reserve’s rate announcement later that day. Major altcoins also gained: HYPE jumped nearly 6% to just above $81,000, ZEC rose 5% to about $1,300, DOGE up 4%, BNB and SOL each about 3% (BNB near $760, SOL above $102), Ether 2% to ~$2,360, and XRP 3% to $1.32. The market had been selling across most tokens on Monday, with Bitcoin falling below $80,000 for the first time in over a week. Traders are now watching Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s press conference for any indication of a December rate hike, which could increase borrowing costs and pull money out of riskier assets like crypto.