Bitcoin Near $64K as Fed Turns Hawkish, Crypto PAC Spends $12M on Senate Race

Crypto News

Kraken has pushed deeper into automated execution, releasing an open-source command-line interface and a Model Context Protocol server that let developers wire trading functions directly into AI environments such as Cursor and Claude Code. The toolkit supports price lookups, paper trading and live order execution, moving an AI Trading Bot beyond simple market data into real order flow within approved permissions. The catch is security: live trading requires storing API keys locally, so a compromised workflow could expose funds. The exchange frames the launch as foundational infrastructure for agent-based trading, while urging restricted permissions, withdrawal protections and an AI Crypto Wallet setup that defaults to simulation first.

Crypto money is again reshaping U.S. politics. A digital-asset-aligned political action committee spent more than $12 million on advertising to lift Bury Moore to victory in Alabama’s Republican Senate runoff, where he took 55.8% against 44.2%. Federal Election Commission filings show the Fairshake-linked Defend American Jobs PAC drove the spend, while a Coinbase-backed advocacy group rated Moore a strong industry ally. Fairshake reported roughly $193 million on hand in January and around $150 million still available, signaling sustained firepower for pro-crypto candidates. Moore now faces Democrat Everett Wes in November for retiring Senator Tommy Tuberville’s seat, ensuring regulation stays a defining campaign battleground.

The Federal Reserve held its benchmark at 3.50–3.75% but delivered an unexpectedly hawkish message, with revised projections flagging a possible additional hike this year. It was the first FOMC meeting under new Chair Kevin Warsh, who stripped out much of the forward guidance markets had relied on. The dollar index climbed 0.87% to 100.152, a one-week high, while the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.487%. Nine officials now expect a hike, and the year-end inflation forecast was lifted to 3.6% from 2.7%. Gold tumbled 1.71% to $4,256.43 an ounce as rising yields eroded the appeal of non-yielding assets.

Geopolitical risk eased as the United States and Iran activated an interim peace agreement, completing the deal through digital signatures by both leaders. Officials confirmed a memorandum of understanding took effect immediately, cooling weeks of escalating military and diplomatic tension. A formal signing ceremony planned for June 20 in Switzerland was canceled once the electronic process concluded. A key open question remains whether the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global oil shipments, returns to normal operation. Crude has already retreated roughly 20% from its 2026 peak as a reopening came into view, trimming the inflation pressure that had rattled risk assets including crypto.

Liquidity dynamics in traditional finance are shifting in ways that bear on risk appetite. South Korean savings banks lifted deposit rates above 4.5% to stem outflows, with one lender launching a 4.5% one-year product and 17 institutions now offering 4%-plus rates. The average one-year deposit rate reached 3.55%, the highest in roughly 19 months, pushing total balances back above 100 trillion won for the first time since late 2025. The move reflects a broader money rotation toward riskier assets like equities, even as general loan rates climbed to 9.62% and average household credit-loan rates fell to a record-low 13.96%.

Credit stress is also building. South Korean banks’ won-denominated loan delinquency rate climbed back to 0.61% in April, with newly delinquent loans rising to 2.9 trillion won as banks sharply slowed write-offs and disposals. Corporate strain was sharpest: the small-and-medium enterprise delinquency rate jumped to 0.9%. Regulators cited persistent high inflation, an elevated exchange rate and rising market rates among the headwinds and pledged tighter monitoring and stronger loss-absorbing buffers. Tightening credit conditions in major economies historically pressure speculative assets, a backdrop that can deepen bear market sentiment across the broader crypto complex.

Taken together, these threads sketch a market caught between structural adoption and macro tightening: crypto infrastructure and political capital are advancing even as a hawkish Fed, firmer dollar and fragile credit pull liquidity away from risk. COINOTAG’s aggregate data underscores the caution, with the Fear & Greed Index at 22, deep in Extreme Fear, while Bitcoin dominance sits at 69.8% and total crypto market capitalization holds near $1.85 trillion. With Bitcoin trading close to $64,000, capital is concentrating in the largest asset rather than rotating into the broader altcoin market. The de-escalation in the Middle East offers relief, but rate expectations remain the dominant variable for any move back toward prior highs.