The market this morning

Fed holds rates in 10-2 split as Bitcoin sits under $85K, with a December hike now in play

By Crypto Info News

Good morning. The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday in a 10-2 vote, Decrypt reported, with Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack favouring a hike. Decrypt framed a December increase as still possible. Bitcoin held steady through the decision, trading at $81,274.37, up 0.59% over 24 hours. Ether was at $2,357.47, up 0.43%. BNB rose 2.02% to $759.08. XRP eased 0.36% to $1.32.

Glassnode, in its weekly on-chain note, said Bitcoin is back under the $84K–$85K band and that exchange-traded fund demand has faded, though it added that each dip now realises smaller losses. It placed volatility at summer 2023 levels ahead of the October 28 Fed meeting.

Corporate Bitcoin holdings drew attention from several outlets. DL News reported that MSCI will name companies affected by a possible index change on November 11, and set out what investors should watch as Strategy faces possible exclusion. Separately, Cointelegraph reported that Strategy shareholders approved daily dividend payments, beginning on STRC in November, with three other preferred securities following in January 2027. Decrypt reported that Datavault AI says it has been unable to withdraw its Bitcoin from Biconomy since June, that it will restate four financial reports tied to a $150 million Scilex deal, and that its stock fell.

On the institutional side, DL News reported that Aviva Investors added a tokenized share class to its £22 billion Sterling Liquidity Fund on the XRP Ledger, backed by a £50 million commitment. The Block reported that Robinhood missed on earnings amid crypto weakness, and that Bernstein sees its crypto business shifting toward infrastructure as prediction markets and perps gain ground.

In policy and enforcement, Chainalysis reported that OFAC sanctioned Russian and North Korean nationals it says supported DPRK IT worker fraud targeting U.S. businesses. CoinDesk reported that CFTC chairman Mike Selig raised questions about policing AI while calling it a road to autonomous trading. Cointelegraph reported that the Canadian fraud trial of Aiden Pleterski went to the jury, with Pleterski maintaining his innocence at closing, and that Sam Bankman-Fried, still incarcerated, wrote to the actor portraying him in a Netflix series.

On adoption, Decrypt reported a survey conducted by Ipsos for the DeFi Education Fund finding that 22% of Americans have ever owned or used crypto, up from 18%, while past-year use held flat at 13%. CoinDesk reported that bitcoin-backed mortgages are coming to Canada, with APX saying property and crypto collateral will be handled distinctly, though borrowers face liquidation risk if prices fall. In a CoinDesk opinion piece, the DeFi Education Fund's Jennifer Rosenthal argued that crypto is not a partisan fight.

What to watch: the November 11 MSCI announcement, Strategy's first STRC dividend, and whether December Fed expectations shift.