Leading cryptocurrencies traded flat, while stocks sold off on Wednesday as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s policy decision and renewed Middle East hostilities.

Crypto Market Rangebound

Bitcoin traded in a narrow $63,000–$64,000 band on heavy volume, while Ethereum hovered around $1,900 in a similarly tight range. XRP and Dogecoin also moved sideways.

Nearly $400 million was liquidated from the cryptocurrency market in the last 24 hours, predominantly in bullish long positions, according to Coinglass data

Bitcoin’s open interest rose 1.52% over the last 24 hours. That said, retail and whale derivatives traders on Binance remained net bullish on the leading asset.

Top Gainers (24 Hours)

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.18 trillion, following a modest dip of 0.28% over the last 24 hours.

Stocks in Red After Fed’s Hawkish Tilt

Stocks saw heavy sell-offs on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 1,153.18 points, or 2.19%, to close at 51,594.14.The S&P 500 declined 1.52% to settle at 7,316.1,while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.74% to end at 24,442.94.

The Federal Reserve , as widely anticipated, though three policymakers dissented, favoring a 25-basis-point hike. Traders now price in a 57% chance of a rate increase during the September meeting.

In other news, the U.S. military resumed its strikes against Iran after President Donald Trump to an Iranian ballistic missile strike on American forces in the Middle East.

Whales Making Most of $BTC’s Correction

Ali Martinez, a widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader, noted that whales were buying Bitcoin’s dip.

“While Bitcoin retraces, large holders have accumulated 29,075 $BTC over the past week, a sign they’re positioning through the pullback,” the analyst added.

On-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant stated that Ethereum could be poised for an upside move, as the large-transfer spikes observed in recent months have given way to “historically low transfer volumes.”

“Lower supply is a positive signal for Ethereum, but weak demand continues to keep the price range bound. A new wave of institutional buying could be the catalyst for the next upward move,” the firm added.

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