NEW YORK, Jan 28, 2026, 10:28 EST — Regular session
- Bitcoin climbed roughly 1.6%, settling close to $89,000 following an earlier drop.
- Traders await the Federal Reserve’s policy decision and Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks set for Wednesday.
- U.S. spot bitcoin ETF flows flipped from a modest inflow Monday to a notable outflow Tuesday.
Bitcoin climbed 1.6% to $89,075 Wednesday, recovering from an intraday dip to $87,271 and a brief surge above $90,000 in early U.S. trading. Ether jumped 2.9% to $2,998.
The shift happened as traders zeroed in on the Federal Reserve’s rate decision set for 2 p.m. EST, with Chair Jerome Powell’s news conference scheduled 30 minutes afterward. Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, commented there was “no urgency to lower rates aggressively.” 1
A weaker dollar has kept crypto in focus, despite bitcoin’s struggle to stay above $90,000. “Now it’s more of a dollar story,” said Jan von Gerich, Nordea’s chief markets analyst, following the greenback’s steep fall on Tuesday. 2
ETF flows have become a key daily indicator for bitcoin, reflecting investor appetite for stock-market exposure instead of owning tokens outright. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs saw a net inflow of $6.8 million on Jan. 26, only to reverse sharply with a $147.4 million net outflow the next day, according to data from Farside Investors. 3
David Morrison, senior analyst at Trade Nation, described Monday’s inflow as “a positive sign” following a streak of outflows linked to bitcoin’s recent dip. He noted the token is holding within a “relatively large support band” between roughly $85,000 and $90,000 — a zone where buyers usually emerge. 4
Some of the broader “hard asset” trend is now creeping into crypto’s infrastructure. Stablecoin issuer Tether plans to buy roughly two metric tons of gold each week and aims to increase its bullion holdings. At the same time, CEO Paolo Ardoino told Reuters the company will maintain “around 10% in bitcoin” within its own portfolio. 5
That said, the next move might swing the opposite way. A hawkish shift from Powell, a dollar rebound, or fresh ETF outflows could push the $90,000 mark back into focus and steer attention toward the mid-$80,000s.
Friday marks the expiry for bitcoin options dated Jan. 30, with roughly $10.8 billion in contracts set to drop off, Cointelegraph reports. The analysis points out that bitcoin must decisively break past $90,000 to swing the odds in favor of bulls. 6
The market’s immediate triggers are stacked tight: the Fed statement and Powell’s comments later Wednesday, followed by a watch on ETF flows and options positioning as Friday’s expiry approaches.
