Bitcoin Pauses After Sharp Rally Ahead of Fed Meeting

Bitcoin trades near key support after a rapid rally, with volume cooling as traders await the Fed decision; hedging signals point to caution ahead of policy.

Rich by Coin

2026-03-18

Bitcoin briefly surged to $76,000 on the day, but pulled back to around $74,191. Daily trading volume slid about 33% to roughly $36.9 billion, signaling a cooling of the recent surge. BTC rose 0.4% after the midnight UTC as traders awaited clearer direction. It steadied near $73,500, seen as a base for the next move.

Market initially anticipated a push toward $80,000, but price action cooled into a more gradual range. Macro tone remained mixed: geopolitics, including the ongoing Iran conflict, kept commodity volatility elevated but softer than earlier extremes. US equities rose gradually, with Nasdaq-100 futures up after midnight and the S&P 500 higher.

Markets turned their attention to the Fed meeting on the 19th. Although the consensus is for a rate hold, oil spikes or softer payrolls could alter the press conference tone and sentiment. Derivatives showed hedging dominance rather than fresh speculative buying. Open interest on BTC futures cooled, and funding rates hovered slightly negative, implying caution rather than conviction.

OI for ETH, XRP and SOL also eased from early peaks, signaling a pause in speculative appetite. Spot-price gains lost momentum as positions were trimmed. Privacy-focused coins like ZEC stood out, rising about 4% in 24 hours and roughly 31% weekly, with OI near multi-month highs. XRP, BNB and SOL funding rates turned negative, suggesting a tilt toward shorts ahead of the policy event.

Option markets showed subdued near-term volatility, with BTC’s 1-day implied volatility around 50% annualized and 24-hour moves near 2.6%. On Deribit, put option demand persisted for BTC and ETH, while risk-reversal and straddle activity indicated a defensive stance. Altcoin market remained resilient, with the altseason index at 54/100, a six-month high. The index implies some sector rotation even as BTC led the rally.

Notable movers included ZEC, MORPHO and SCPXC, with ZEC up about 3.4% after midnight and MORPHO rising roughly 33% month over month. SCPXC rose about 0.8% while CDMEME fell about 2.7%. Overall, Bitcoin appears to be in a consolidation after a sharp rally, with hedging and caution ahead of the Fed meeting.