Bitcoin rose about 4% intraday and traded back above $81,000 after a Federal Reserve governor signalled support for holding policy rates.

Market reaction to Fed remarks

Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller said he would support maintaining the policy rate if inflation continues to cool, prompting fast market repricing.

Traders reduced the implied probability of a September rate increase from 63% to roughly 50%, reflecting a rapid reassessment of monetary expectations.

Crypto performance and flows

The largest intraday move among major crypto assets came from Zcash, which gained about 15% in one day and roughly 20% over the past week, outpacing broader market returns.

U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs registered approximately $277 million of inflows on Thursday, however the previous four sessions featured alternating money entering and leaving those funds.

That pattern means there is not yet a sustained, clear institutional flow that would confirm persistent demand from larger investors.

Context and implications

Price moves occurred without any major crypto-specific announcements, suggesting that shifts in rate expectations were the primary driver of sentiment across digital-asset markets.

Market participants will likely monitor further Fed commentary and incoming inflation data for additional signals about the path of monetary policy and its impact on risk assets.