Bitcoin Steadies Near $82,000 as Fed Chair Warsh Dodges Rate-Hike Signals

Bitcoin held steady around $82,000 on October 16 after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh declined to signal further interest-rate increases, easing investor anxiety that had weighed on risk assets. The odds of a Fed rate hike at the October meeting fell to roughly 13-15% from as high as 27-48% the prior day, according to Polymarket data, marking a sharp reversal in trader expectations.

The stabilization in crypto came alongside a broader recovery in global markets. South Korean tech stocks, which had been caught in a sell-off, rebounded approximately 2%, while US equities traded in mixed territory. The US 10-year Treasury yield briefly touched 5.13%, a level that underscores continued pressure in bond markets even as near-term rate-hike fears subsided.

Bitcoin's ability to hold above $80,000 through the turbulence drew attention to its positioning as a potential hedge against monetary policy uncertainty, with traders watching Warsh's comments closely for any shift in the Fed's forward guidance.