- All eyes are on the Federal Reserve statement:

The Federal Reserve will release the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting for April at 18:00 GMT on Wednesday. Although interest rates remain unchanged in the range of 3.50% to 3.75%, market participants will closely monitor the hawkish tendencies of committee members, especially after US inflation data for April came in higher than expected.

The stance taken by Federal Reserve officials on inflation and the policy outlook—particularly in light of new Chair Kevin Warsh—is likely to be one of the key points highlighted in the meeting minutes.

Market participants already expect a 96.7% probability that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged in the 3.50%-3.75% range at the upcoming review cycle scheduled for June 17. In addition, rising inflation and growing macroeconomic uncertainty due to the US-Iran conflict increase the chances of rate hikes by the end of 2026.

FedWatch Tool | Source: CME Group

Meanwhile, demand for Bitcoin from retail investors appears to be declining, as reflected in the drop in open interest in futures contracts to $56.29 billion on Wednesday, down from $57.17 billion the previous day, which is far below the month’s peak of $64.17 billion reached on May 6. If open interest continues to fall, it would indicate a lack of confidence in Bitcoin’s ability to sustain short-term gains, as traders refrain from opening new positions.

Daily Bitcoin Futures Trading Data | Source: CoinGlass

On the other hand, Ethereum derivatives saw a slight increase, with open interest reaching $31.50 billion on Wednesday, compared with $31.34 billion the previous day and $30.73 billion on Monday. Demand for perpetual Ethereum futures is expected to continue growing at an accelerated pace to support a price rebound.

Open Interest Data for Ethereum Futures | Source: CoinGlass

Retail investor interest in XRP remained stable, with the average open interest in futures contracts at $2.93 billion on Wednesday, up from $2.83 billion the previous day. Any further increase in open interest could help stabilize XRP’s price around the key level of $1.40.

Daily XRP Futures Trading Data | Source:
$BTC ‌
$ETH ‌
$XRP ‌