Fed holds steady, Bitcoin climbs and Ethereum rolls out major upgrade

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at 4.25% to 4.5% during its latest meeting, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaking to emphasize caution and data dependence amid ongoing economic uncertainty. Despite the decision, markets remained flat. Analysts now predict the Fed may consider rate cuts in July or September if the economy weakens further.Trade tensions remain high, with the U.S. locked in an escalating tariff war. However, a key development came when China’s Commerce Ministry confirmed that talks with the U.S. over tariffs will resume. Both economies have been hit by the standoff, and the potential thaw in relations was welcomed by markets. Bitcoin responded with a sharp move upward on May 6, briefly tapping $97,000.In a historic move, New Hampshire became the first U.S. state to approve a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. The bill (HB302) allows the state treasurer to purchase Bitcoin or any digital asset with a market cap over $500 billion, currently only Bitcoin. Purchases are capped at 5% of total state funds.Ethereum developers activated the long-awaited Pectra upgrade on May 7, two days earlier than expected. The upgrade includes 11 changes aimed at improving user experience, validator operations, and Layer 2 scaling. Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin called it a major step toward a fully decentralized global system. Despite the technical leap, $ETH prices remained largely unchanged.Bitwise filed for a spot $NEAR ETF, continuing the trend of top asset managers focusing on U.S.-based crypto assets. Meanwhile, the SEC delayed its decision on Canary Capital’s proposed spot $LTC ETF, requesting more public comments and citing concerns about market manipulation.Hedera recently enabled ERC-20 token support through HashPack and SaucerSwap. EVM compatibility is also now live via WalletConnect, Fireblocks, and Copper, following the successful Chainlink CCIP integration.