Cryptocurrencies had a promising Wednesday afternoon that turned into a disappointing evening. After Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivered his post-meeting remarks, the crypto market gave back most of its gains as investors digested what turned out to be a more cautious outlook than many had hoped for.

The Rally That Wasn't

Bitcoin looked pretty good earlier in the day, climbing to an intraday peak of $94,477.16 during the afternoon session. But that momentum proved fleeting. By late evening, the world's largest cryptocurrency had retreated to the $91,000 region, surrendering most of those gains.

Ethereum followed a nearly identical script, pulling back sharply from highs around $3,436 to $3,260 overnight. XRP and Dogecoin experienced similar whiplash, climbing early before descending just as quickly.

The pain extended to crypto-related equities as well. Strategy Inc. (MSTR) closed down 2.30% during regular trading, while Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) fell 0.82%.

According to data from Coinglass, cryptocurrency liquidations reached $390 million over the last 24 hours. Of that total, a painful $255 million came from long positions, suggesting plenty of bullish traders got caught on the wrong side of the move.

Bitcoin's open interest declined 0.10% over the past day. More dramatically, since Bitcoin's all-time high on October 7, open interest has collapsed by 38%, indicating a significant unwinding of leveraged positions.

Still, there's some optimism out there. Over 60% of Binance traders with open BTC positions remained positioned long, according to the Long/Short Ratio, suggesting many believe the dip is temporary.

Top Gainers (24 Hours)

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $3.14 trillion, down a modest 0.68% over the last 24 hours.

What Powell Actually Said

Traditional markets had a better day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 497.46 points, or 1.1%, to close at 48,057.75. The S&P 500 lifted 0.7% to settle at 6,886.68, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3% to finish at 23,654.16.

The Federal Reserve cut the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 3.50–3.75%, citing cooling labor conditions and moderating inflation. That part was expected and mostly priced in.

What cooled crypto's momentum was Powell's tone about what comes next. When asked if the Fed's next move could be a rate hike, Powell dismissed the notion: "I don't see that as anybody's base case." But he also indicated that most policymakers are split between holding rates steady or cutting further later in 2026. In other words, no clear signal of aggressive easing ahead, which is what crypto bulls wanted to hear.

The Critical Support Level Everyone's Watching

Widely followed cryptocurrency analyst Ali Martinez identified $2,770 as the key support level for Ethereum, citing data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode. If that level breaks, things could get uncomfortable for ETH holders.

Michaël van de Poppe, another popular cryptocurrency commentator, noted that Federal rate cut decisions usually trigger volatility, but said it's uncertain whether Bitcoin will hold above the crucial support level of $91,800.

"However, if it does, it's very likely that Bitcoin continues to run towards $100,000 in the coming period as it's about to take out the highs and starts to accelerate from here," Van De Poppe predicted.

That $91,800 level has become the line in the sand. Hold above it, and the path to six figures remains intact. Break below it, and we could see another leg down. With Bitcoin currently trading around $91,244, we're right at that make-or-break moment.

The coming days will tell us whether this is just a temporary pullback in an ongoing bull run, or the start of something more concerning for crypto investors who've been betting on a Federal Reserve pivot that may not be coming as quickly as they'd hoped.