Bitcoin (BTC) Holds $77K Ahead of FOMC Rate Decision

Bitcoin Regroups Near $77K

On September 13, Bitcoin (BTC) settled back into the $77,000 band, changing hands at $77,293.56 — up a modest 0.18% over 24 hours — after an intraday slide toward $76,500 was fully absorbed by buyers. The recovery capped a turbulent stretch that began with the U.S. August consumer price index (CPI) release on September 11, when Bitcoin briefly pushed back toward $80,000 before seller pressure forced a retreat to the high-$76,000s. Across venues the session read as a pause rather than a reversal: order-book depth narrowed into the FOMC window, most trading volume concentrated in derivatives rather than spot books, and thin liquidity produced visible slippage during the dip toward $76,500. The broader market mirrored the hesitation. Total digital asset market capitalization stood at $2.62 trillion, down 1.63% on the day, while 24-hour liquidations reached $410.78 million — a 10.32% increase — as leveraged unwinds accelerated ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) rate decision scheduled for September 16. Altcoins broadly underperformed. Ethereum (ETH) slipped 0.55% to $2,507.17, BNB lost 0.69% to $721.35, XRP fell 0.61% to $1.35, and Solana (SOL) eased 0.26% to $101.10. Dogecoin (DOGE) dropped 0.82% to $0.08419, Chainlink (LINK) gave up 0.66% to $11.43, Hyperliquid declined 1.73%, and the privacy coin Monero — still 1.64% higher across the past seven days — lost 2.46% on the day. Tron bucked the trend with a 0.48% gain, while Cardano edged up 0.02% to hold near flat. Momentum cooled alongside price, leaving desks to wait for the policy statement rather than add directional risk.

CPI Reprices September Odds

The macro backdrop dominated positioning decisions. August CPI rose 0.4% month over month and 3.4% year over year, while core CPI, which strips out energy and food, advanced 0.3% — slightly above consensus forecasts. Rate expectations repriced fast: CME data showed the implied probability of a September hike climbing from 58% before the print to roughly 88% afterward. The FOMC concludes a two-day meeting on September 16, with the statement and the chair’s press conference to follow — the first policy checkpoint since the inflation print reset those expectations. Tighter policy normally burdens risk assets, yet Bitcoin rallied toward $80,000 after the release, a reaction traders attributed to a market that had already priced a measure of further tightening and to long-dated Treasury dynamics feeding a broader “debasement trade” narrative. The ceiling, however, remains well defended. Derivatives positioning data shows short contracts clustered between $79,000 and $80,900, while spot and leveraged sell orders between $80,000 and $82,300 cap any advance. On the downside, long-position liquidity sits in the $76,000–$74,000 band and again at $72,000–$70,000. Analysts framed the FOMC window around exactly these levels. One digital-asset market strategist argued that a gradual return to $80,000 and a break above the weekly high could set off a short-squeeze cascade and amplify upside volatility; the same read flagged $76,000 — the level carved out during the CPI print — as the nearer-term test given Bitcoin’s current proximity to it. A separate analysis focused on the 50-week exponential moving average, warning that a weekly close below the line, followed by confirmation of it as resistance, would signal the market has not yet re-entered a full bull cycle — a view traders cross-check with momentum studies such as the RSI and MACD. Longer-term commentary stayed constructive: Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong suggested Bitcoin has likely passed this cycle’s low, expects an upward run over the next one to two years, and called $400,000 by 2030 a reasonable target. Readers tracking the market in real time can follow live spot and futures prices on Gate.

$80K Reclaim in Focus

COINOTAG’s aggregate market data keeps sentiment at 61/100 — Greed — with Bitcoin holding 68.0% of our tracked universe and total tracked market cap near $2.28 trillion; into September 16, the FOMC outcome around the $80,000 line and the $76,000 support stands as the decisive catalyst.