Bitcoin and major cryptocurrencies rose late Sunday, as traders weighed macroeconomic tailwinds following a warning from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell about political pressure on the central bank.
Bitcoin rose 1.5% to $92,047 as of 11:30 p.m. ET Sunday, while Ethereum gained 1.99% to $3,157, according to The Block’s price page. Solana led among major altcoins with a 4.81% jump to $142.53.
The rally was spotted across the broader crypto market, where privacy-focused tokens stood out as the biggest winners. Monero surged 17.9% to $574.09, and Zcash climbed 9.76% to $410.92.
The price action came shortly after Powell disclosed in a video message that the U.S. Department of Justice had threatened criminal indictment related to his testimony at Congress in June 2025.
“The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President,” said Powell, whose term as Fed chair is scheduled to end in May 2026.
U.S. President Donald Trump has been a vocal critic of Powell over disagreements on the pace and depth of interest rate cuts. Trump has repeatedly pressed the Fed for deeper and faster cuts, calling for a benchmark of 1% or lower.
Safe-haven rotation
Peter Chung, head of research at Presto Research, said bitcoin’s rally “started right around the time Jerome Powell’s video was released,” noting that gold rose sharply at the same moment. Spot gold price rose 1.3% to $4,569 at the time of writing.
“These price actions strongly suggest that Powell’s remark that the Fed’s independence is under threat have triggered investor concerns over the USD-led legacy financial system,” Chung said, adding that confidence in the dollar’s neutrality is central to its reserve-currency status. “Once the public sufficiently believes this is no longer the case, investors will start to look for hedges against the legacy system, and gold and BTC are those hedges.”
Vincent Liu, CIO of Kronos Research, told The Block that technical levels and strategic buying added momentum.
“BTC and ETH climbed on technical support and strategic buying at key levels,” Liu said. “Traders are eyeing these moves amid updates on the broader regulatory chatter, including news on the potential digital-asset market-structure bill to boost transparency and liquidity.”
Liu added that traders are closely watching three catalysts this week: Powell’s clash with the DOJ, updates around tax-cut plans, and Tuesday’s upcoming U.S. Consumer Price Index reading.
Macro resilience
Jeff Mei, COO at BTSE, cautioned that sharp moves could emerge during the U.S. market open, given heightened political tensions. “Because of the Trump-Fed spat, it’s possible that the market may dip upon its open U.S. time,” he said.
However, Jeff Ko, chief analyst at CoinEx Research, downplayed the direct impact of the DOJ-Fed dispute, describing it instead as part of a broader narrative around policy uncertainty. Ko said the macro backdrop remains constructive for crypto, citing softer-than-expected non-farm payrolls, rising gold prices, and a recent deleveraging reset.
Ko noted that geopolitical flare-ups remain a key risk. “Any escalation could significantly amplify market volatility and safe-haven flows,” he added.
Andri Fauzan Adziima, research lead at Bitrue, said strong U.S. fundamentals are driving sustained momentum, noting that robust GDP growth, rising real wages, and moderating inflation naturally favor risk-on assets.
His views came as Goldman Sachs revised its interest-rate outlook, postponing its forecast for Fed rate cuts to June and September 2026 from its previous projection of March and June, Reuters reported on Sunday.
“Anticipated Federal Reserve rate reductions, most likely in June and September, will further ease financial conditions, injecting liquidity that cryptocurrencies historically absorb with vigor and signaling the early stages of a sustained bullish phase,” Adziima added.
© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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