Bitcoin back above $77,500, XRP leads majors as Fed hike odds slide to 62%

Bitcoin surged back above the $77,500 threshold today, anchoring a broad market recovery as shifting macroeconomic expectations reignited risk appetite across digital asset desks. The rally coincided with a sharp contraction in interest rate hike probabilities, which slid to 62% according to rate-futures tracking data, giving macro-driven traders room to re-engage with risk-sensitive assets. Bitcoin’s swift reclaim of $77,500 triggered a rapid cascade of short liquidations across derivative venues, flushing out over $140 million in bearish bets as spot buying absorbed overhead liquidity near critical technical resistance levels. Ripple’s XRP spearheaded gains among large-cap altcoins, outperforming the broader market through a potent combination of spot accumulation and a surge in futures open interest. While every major token traded in the green over the past 24 hours, market structure over a broader timeframe reveals a far more selective landscape. Across a seven-day performance window, the vast majority of top-tier crypto assets remain entrenched in weekly drawdowns. Zcash (ZEC) and Hyperliquid (HYPE) stand out as the lone major exceptions maintaining weekly gains. Zcash’s relative strength reflects renewed capital rotation into privacy-preserving architecture, while Hyperliquid continues to capture market share due to sustained volume growth on its layer-1 perpetual decentralized exchange. The easing of rate-hike odds underscores a crucial pivot in market sentiment, where cooling macroeconomic metrics are tempering expectations of prolonged monetary tightening. Reduced yields on risk-free assets typically lower the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding digital assets, encouraging institutional desks to expand their risk parameters. However, order book analytics suggest that market depth remains comparatively thin above the $78,000 mark. While perpetual swap funding rates have drifted back into positive territory, indicating a bullish bias among retail leverage traders, the lack of dense bids beneath current price levels leaves the market vulnerable to sudden downside volatility if spot absorption decelerates. Moving forward, institutional participants are watching whether Bitcoin can consolidate above $77,500 to establish a concrete floor for a broader trend continuation. For the altcoin market to sustain its intraday bounce, breadth will need to extend beyond isolated outperformers like Zcash and Hyperliquid into the wider layer-1 and DeFi sectors. Until macro liquidity conditions solidify further, trading desks are expected to maintain disciplined risk controls, balancing spot allocations against ongoing sensitivity to upcoming Federal Reserve policy statements and central bank communication.