Bitcoin (BTC) and XRP led a broad cryptocurrency downturn on June 18, with the total market cap slipping below $2.3 trillion after the Federal Reserve’s first FOMC meeting under Chair Kevin Warsh ended in a hawkish pause.
The Fed kept interest rates unchanged, as expected, but Warsh’s post-meeting press conference dashed hopes for an “easy money” chairman. His remarks drove Bitcoin from over $67,000 earlier in the week to a low of $63,600, triggering over $400 million in liquidations. BTC later recovered to around $64,000 but was still down 2.4% on the day with a market cap of $1.29 trillion. XRP suffered sharper losses, dropping 3.5% to $1.17 and falling below its critical $1.20 support level, with analysts warning of a potential slide toward $1.00.
Ethereum (ETH) declined 3.0% to $1,733.72, while BNB lost the $600 mark, falling 3.0% to $588.21. Solana (SOL) dropped 2.8% to $71.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) fell 2.9%, and Hyperliquid (HYPE) gave up 3.4%. Only Stellar (XLM) bucked the trend, surging 10% to $0.24, while smaller tokens like ESPORTS, O, and SYN posted triple-digit gains amid speculative interest.
The sell-off highlights how monetary policy signals continue to dictate crypto sentiment, with a hawkish Fed effectively capping risk-on appetite across the asset class.
