Fed Minutes Just Flipped the Script on Bitcoin — Rate Hikes Are Back on the Table, and Here's What That Means

WHY IT MATTERS

Think of interest rates like the price of borrowing money. When rates are low, money is cheap and people are more willing to invest in risky things like crypto. When rates go up, it's like the cost of everything financial increases — savings accounts and bonds start paying more, so people move money out of riskier bets like Bitcoin and into safer options. Everyone expected the Fed (the central bank that controls U.S. interest rates) to start lowering rates, which would have been great for crypto prices. Instead, the Fed hinted they might actually raise rates further. It's like showing up to a party expecting free pizza and finding out you have to pay double — the mood changes fast.