The Fed Hiked — But Bitcoin Isn’t Breaking Down #127

<p>In this week’s Crypto Options Unplugged, Imran Lakha and David Brickell unpack the market reaction to the Fed’s latest rate hike, the bigger forces driving global markets, and Bitcoin’s breakout through the key $80–85k area.<br>The Fed may have delivered another hike, but Dave argues monetary policy is increasingly becoming a sideshow compared with the much larger story of fiscal dominance. Persistent government deficits, resilient economic activity and shifting inflation dynamics are creating a backdrop where risk assets have continued to absorb supposedly bearish news remarkably well.</p><p><br>Bitcoin briefly pushed towards $87k before pulling back into the $83–84k region, breaking through an area that had previously kept the market firmly in a bearish technical regime. The question now is whether the move marks a genuine change in trend or another rally that ultimately fades.<br>Interestingly, the options market remains far less enthusiastic than spot. Bitcoin skew has moved from persistent put premium back towards neutral rather than aggressively pricing upside, while ETH has seen longer-dated call selling and profit-taking. Imran argues that this lack of confirmation may actually leave the market under-positioned if the rally continues.</p><p><br>Looking ahead, Dave sees the ingredients for a potentially powerful Q4 rally across equities and Bitcoin, although month- and quarter-end flows could create some near-term weakness first. With strong ETF demand and investors still debating whether the bear market is really over, the setup remains finely balanced.</p><p><br></p><p>For more information on our new matching engine: </p><p>https://insights.deribit.com/exchange-updates/deribits-new-matching-engine-from-milliseconds-to-microseconds/</p><p><br></p><p>Deribit FZE does not accept UAE retail clients for derivatives and does not accept US clients and clients from restricted countries.</p>