Bitcoin Halted at $80K as US Fed and ECB Hold Interest Rates Steady: Your Weekly Crypto Recap

The ECB followed the Fed’s example a day later, but it hinted about a hike in June.

It was a highly anticipated week for several economic events in the US and abroad, including the third FOMC meeting of the year, March PCE inflation data, and earnings reports from multiple S&P 500 companies.

The previous weekend was eventful on the war front as the scheduled peace talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan failed, and the POTUS even canceled the delegation’s trip. Trump held a special conference for the top holders of the TRUMP token and later attended a White House event in which there was an alleged attempt on his life, but everyone left unscathed.

Bitcoin remained relatively quiet despite all these developments and traded at around $77,000-$78,000. On Monday morning, though, it exploded to $79,500 before it was violently and instantly rejected. At first, BTC dropped to $77,500 before it nosedived again hours later to $76,500.

The bears kept the pressure on, and bitcoin slipped below $76,000 a day later. It surged toward $78,000 on Wednesday, hours before the FOMC meeting. Once the Fed confirmed what everyone expected, that there would be no changes to the rates, BTC dropped again, this time to under $75,000.

It rebounded to around $76,000 by Thursday, even after the ECB followed the Fed’s example and kept the rates unchanged. Moreover, it even hinted that there might be a hike in June.

Nevertheless, bitcoin actually ended April with a double-digit increase for the first time in almost a year. It went on a mild run on May 1, touching $78,000 on some reports that the US and Iran might begin negotiations soon. Its market cap climbed to $1.560 trillion, and its dominance remains tall above 58%.

BCP, PENGU, and DOGE are the three double-digit price gainers from the larger-cap weekly, followed by HASH, MORPHO, JST, TAO, and PI.

Market Data

Cryptocurrency Market Overview Weekly May 1. Source: QuantifyCrypto

Market Cap: $2.680T | 24H Vol: $74B | BTC Dominance: 58.3%

BTC: $78,100 (-0.8%) | ETH: $2,300 (-1.32%) | XRP: $1.39 (-3.6%)

This Week’s Crypto Headlines You Can’t Miss

Strategy Eases Bitcoin Accumulation With 3,273 BTC Buy. After a couple of multi-billion-dollar bitcoin purchases by the world’s largest corporate holder of the asset, the company eased its accumulation pace by buying a more modest 3,273 BTC for $255 million.

Analyst Says Gensler Exit Hurt Crypto Trust, Warns Powell Could Too. A popular crypto analyst believes that Gensler’s departure from the SEC actually hurt investors’ confidence in the market, and Powell’s potential exit could do the same.

Ripple (XRP) Drops Major Announcement for Middle East and Africa Clients. The company behind XRP and RLUSD continues to make some major moves in different regions, with the latest being the establishment of a new HQ in Dubai’s International Financial Center (DIFC).

Report: Trump-Linked WLFI Partnered With Project Linked to Alleged Fraud Syndicate. Essentially every cryptocurrency project linked to the First Family has attracted a significant amount of scrutiny due to some questionable decisions. Most recently, a WSJ report claimed that WLFI had partnered with a blockchain network called AB less than a month after the US government sanctioned over 140 people and entities tied to it.

Bitcoin Spot Volumes Crash to Bear-Market Lows – Apathy Now, Opportunity Next? CryptoQuant’s Darkforst outlined a negative trend in the overall market participation for bitcoin as the engagement has dropped to bear-market levels. However, the analyst believes this could be a blessing in disguise.

Peter Schiff Claims Vindication as Bitcoin Falls 30% Since 2025 Sell Call. It appears the permanent bitcoin bear has finally made the right call on BTC after advising investors to sell during the 2025 Bitcoin conference. Now, a year later, the asset trades 30% lower, and he didn’t miss the opportunity to seek vindication.