With the Federal Reserve’s big interest rate decision just hours away, a handful of altcoins are actually moving up. Not a lot, but enough to notice. It’s a strange little pocket of green in what’s otherwise been a pretty cautious market.
BNB is out in front with a 2.5% gain over the last day. It’s followed by Sui, Hyperliquid, and XRP, each posting smaller gains between 0.7% and 2.2%. It’s not exactly a rally, but it’s something.
Not Riding the Fed Wave
Here’s the interesting part. According to Lai Yuen, an investment analyst at Fischer8 Capital, this isn’t really about the Fed. He says these coins are moving on their own specific news, not because of anticipation for a rate cut.
For Hyperliquid and BNB, Yuen points to what he calls “chatter around digital asset treasury buying flows.” It sounds a bit jargony, but the basic idea is that people are talking about big businesses maybe adding these to their balance sheets. They’re seen as having solid foundations, which is appealing right now.
As for XRP, the small bump seems tied to the brand-new spot ETF that was just approved. There’s talk it could launch this week, and that’s always going to generate some buzz.
The Bigger Picture is Still Murky
Even with these few gainers, the overall mood in crypto feels hesitant. Yuen noted that traditional markets like equities and gold are seeing strong interest heading into the Fed announcement. Crypto, on the other hand, seems to be lagging behind. The major cryptocurrencies are still stuck, making lower highs.
But it’s not all pessimistic. There are signs that bigger players might be quietly accumulating. Despite the short-term uncertainty, institutions seem to be buying.
Last week saw a massive $2.34 billion flow into U.S. Bitcoin ETFs, pushing global holdings to a new record. That’s not nothing. And then there was that move on Tuesday, spotted by Arkham Intelligence. Crypto prime broker FalconX pulled a huge amount of SOL—over 413,000 tokens—off of major exchanges like Binance and Coinbase.
When that much crypto moves *off* exchanges, it often suggests investors are moving it into cold storage. They’re not looking to sell it quickly; they’re planning to hold onto it for a while.
Is an Altcoin Season Brewing?
This might all be setting the stage for something bigger. There’s definitely a lot of speculation building. Data shows that altcoin open interest recently surged, even briefly overtaking Bitcoin’s back on September 13th.
That uptick in leverage hints that traders are getting eager. They’re positioning themselves, maybe hoping for a classic fourth-quarter run. As Stephen Gregory from Vtrader mentioned, there’s a historical tendency for the market to perform well later in the year. People are hoping that pattern holds.
So, while the immediate reaction to the Fed’s news could go either way, there’s a underlying sense that some investors are getting ready. They’re making their bets, perhaps expecting calmer waters ahead.
