Bitcoin Falls to $83,280 Ahead of Federal Reserve Minutes

Bitcoin (BTC) fell to $83,280.52 Wednesday morning, extending a decline that matters for U.S. traders as markets awaited the Federal Reserve’s latest policy discussion.

Bitcoin was down 3.5% over 24 hours at 9:37 a.m. ET (13:37 UTC), after trading as high as $86,648.14 during the period. The 24-hour low was $83,273.19.

The move came as the Federal Reserve prepared to release minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s Sept. 15–16 meeting. The minutes were published at 2 p.m. ET (18:00 UTC) Wednesday.

At that meeting, the committee raised its federal-funds target range by 25 basis points to 3.75%–4%. The committee said it would deliver price stability.

Bitcoin had struggled to hold the $86,500–$87,000 area before the decline, leaving traders focused on the Fed’s assessment of inflation and interest-rate policy.