The Federal Reserve raised interest rates on September 16. The following week, investors poured $3.55 billion into crypto funds, the most in any week of 2026.
Higher rates make safe assets like government bonds pay more. Crypto pays no interest at all. Yet big money went the other way.
Why Investors Bought Crypto After a Rate Hike
The Fed raised its benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage points to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%. Markets had seen it coming.
CoinShares, the asset manager that tracks these flows, says the hike ended weeks of guessing. Buyers then rushed back.
“The scale and breadth of the week’s demand suggest institutional conviction returned once the policy decision removed a key source of uncertainty, a pattern consistent with buying the fact after weeks of caution,” CoinShares wrote in the report.
CoinShares also sells crypto funds of its own.
The rebound came after a bruising stretch. On September 15, the CLARITY Act, a bill to set federal rules for crypto markets, failed a Senate vote 49 to 50. Bitcoin sank below $75,000. Lawmakers are now drafting replacements.
US Funds Led the Buying as Strategy Sold Stock for Bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) funds took $2.52 billion. Ethereum (ETH) funds added $702 million. Solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP) followed with $193 million and $92.3 million.
US products drew $3.43 billion of the total. US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) took in money on all five trading days. In late May, crypto funds lost $1.67 billion in a week.
MicroStrategy, the company that holds 847,666 BTC, bought 1,666 more last week. It paid for part of that $143 million purchase by selling new shares of its stock, MSTR. CoinShares noted this dilutes existing shareholders.
Another Fed Hike Could Test the Rally
Bitcoin now trades near $84,236, up 1.37% in 24 hours, per BeInCrypto data. Traders see a less than 40% chance of another hike in October. The 10-year Treasury yield sits near 5.28%.
Wednesday offered some relief. US PCE inflation cooled to 3.4% in August. Friday’s jobs report comes next.