Bitcoin (BTC) has slipped below the $88,000 mark following the Federal Reserve's first Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting of 2026, where officials decided to maintain interest rates in the 3.50%–3.75% range. The decision, described as being made "meeting by meeting," injected volatility into risk assets, contributing to a broad cryptocurrency market downturn.
BTC's price trajectory saw a correction beginning last Monday, influenced by external factors including new tariff threats. After peaking above $95,000 over the weekend, BTC tumbled to $92,000 on Monday and fell below $88,000 by Wednesday. A brief recovery to over $91,000 on Friday was short-lived, with the asset ultimately slumping to a one-month low of $86,000 on Monday. A subsequent rebound to the $88,000-$89,000 range was undone post-FOMC, with BTC now struggling beneath $88,000. Its market capitalization has dropped to approximately $1.750 trillion, while its dominance over altcoins stands near 57.4%.
The altcoin market followed Bitcoin south. Ethereum (ETH) lost the $3,000 support level, trading around $2,930, down 3.4%. Ripple's XRP fell below $1.90 to around $1.87. BNB traded beneath $900, while Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano (ADA), and others registered similar or more severe daily losses. The total crypto market capitalization fell by over $60 billion in 24 hours, dipping below $3.050 trillion to around $2.98 trillion.
Notably, Pi Network's PI token marked a new all-time low (ATL), trading at approximately $0.163 after a 5.5% decline. The market volatility triggered significant liquidations, with over $300 million in cumulative losses recorded in 24 hours. Data from Coinglass shows approximately $13.5 billion in long positions and $13.29 billion in short positions are currently exposed to potential liquidation.
Traders are now monitoring key technical levels, with a drop to $75,000 posing a risk to long positions and a move to $105,000 impacting shorts. Market attention remains focused on Federal Reserve policy and the performance of traditional safe-haven assets as the crypto market exhibits high volatility and elevated liquidation risk.
