Bitcoin 
$78,258 persists in its narrow trading range, hovering around $114,000 as it seeks direction ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision this week. Markets anticipate the Fed’s second rate cut of the year, potentially lowering the benchmark rate to 4.00-4.25%. Meanwhile, major altcoins like Ethereum 
$2,295, Solana 
$84, and BNB have shown declines of around 2%, with the leading memecoin Dogecoin 
$0.108602 also caught in the downtrend.
All Eyes on Fed’s Rate Decision and Powell’s Statements
The Fed is expected to cut rates by 25 basis points in its FOMC meeting on October 28-29. Analysts suggest that despite inflation slightly overshooting the target, the central bank has transitioned into a data-driven monetary easing phase. Bitget Wallet’s research analyst, Lacie Zhang, emphasizes cautious liquidity expansion by Powell, which supports bond demand and risk appetite.
The partial government shutdown in the U.S. has delayed economic data, complicating the Fed’s decision-making process based on private sector data. Powell’s focus on indicators like the ADP employment report reduces the potential for unexpected policy shifts, limiting volatility in cryptocurrencies.
Strength in Bitcoin Institutional Flows vs. Weakness in Altcoins
Bitcoin climbed from $104,800 to $116,000 over the weekend, securing a 5.8% weekly gain. However, Monday’s profit-taking pulled the price back to around $114,000. Zhang notes the increase in open positions from $25 billion to $30 billion and warns of liquidation risks below $110,000 despite the leverage increase boosting the rise.
According to CoinGlass data, futures open positions and funding rates remain high but balanced. FxPro analyst Alex Kuptsikevich highlights Bitcoin’s support from the 200-day moving average, with the $117,000-$120,000 range acting as a resistance zone. The total cryptocurrency market valuation stays at $3.9 trillion, above the 50- and 200-day averages.
In the altcoin market, mixed performance prevails. CryptoAppsy data shows ETH has dropped to $4,115, SOL to $202, and XRP to $2.65, with DOGE declining by 3%. TRX exhibited a weak performance with a 1.4% decrease over the last 24 hours. On-chain data indicates a movement of BTC that remained inactive for over 7 years, suggesting early Bitcoin investors are taking profits.
