Bitcoin nears $81,000 ahead of Fed decision as ZEC jumps 8%

Bitcoin approached $81,000 before the Federal Reserve's decision, while ZEC experienced an 8% increase.

Galaxy stated that the bear market for Bitcoin likely concluded in June and that the cryptocurrency has entered an accumulation phase, which historically preceded rallies.

Traders are monitoring for indications of a rate increase in December, and a daily Bitcoin closing above $82,500 might suggest the recovery is gaining strength.

As of Wednesday Asian morning hours, Bitcoin rose nearly 2% to just under $81,000, recovering from the weekend's drop to nearly $79,000 as traders awaited the Federal Reserve's announcement later that day.

ZEC led the major cryptocurrencies, jumping 8% to approximately $1,320, thereby surpassing $1,300 after Monday's selling. HYPE increased by nearly 5% to around $81. XRP and DOGE saw gains of about 3%, while Ether rose 2% to just over $2,350, and SOL climbed about 2% to $102, according to CoinDesk data.

This upward movement occurred a day after Galaxy advised investors that it was time to accumulate bitcoin. Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy, noted in a communication, "We think the bear market ended in June and that bitcoin is in the accumulation phase that has preceded every prior advance."

Thorn indicated that the bottom probably occurred in June, when bitcoin traded below $58,000. He cited bitcoin's return above its 50-week moving average, along with reduced selling pressure and rising U.S. debt.

Traders will now pay attention to Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s press conference for any sign of a December rate hike. Such a hike would increase borrowing costs and typically draw capital away from riskier assets like crypto.

Separately, Bitcoin briefly dipped below $80,000 over the last day, reaching about $79,330 before rebounding to $80,264, marking a 2.7% decline for the week, per CoinGecko. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded over $773 million in net outflows on Thursday and Friday, putting October on track for a net loss.