Bitcoin stuck in ‘market of maybes’ as Wall Street inflows clash with Fed caution: analyst

Wall Street investors are buying the dip despite uncertainty surrounding further funding rate reductions as markets eye a historically bullish fourth quarter.

According to The Block’s data dashboard, spot BTC funds on Wall Street took in roughly $241 million on Wednesday, led by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust with about $129 million in net subscriptions. That followed outflows of about $363 million on Monday and $104 million on Tuesday.

Flows into Ethereum products have told a different story. U.S. spot ether ETFs recorded about $79 million in net outflows on Wednesday — a third straight day of withdrawals — as ETH retraced to $4,000.

In spite of the capital inflow, Bitcoin stalled between $111,800 and $112,100 on Thursday amid intraday volatility. Traders also continued to digest last week’s Federal Reserve rate cut and Chair Jerome Powell’s message on Tuesday that policymakers will not rush into further easing.

Powell characterized last week’s quarter-point move as a “risk-management” cut aimed at cushioning a cooling labor market. He also said there was no broad push inside the Fed for a larger, half-point reduction.

Projections published after the decision suggest officials expect additional easing later this year, while Powell has reiterated that the committee must balance upside inflation risks against downside employment risks. His language implies Fed patience rather than a rapid cutting cycle. The tone has kept crypto in what one analyst called a “market of maybes,” with price pinned beneath nearby resistance and macro signals pointing both ways.

“This is a market of maybes,” Timothy Misir, head of research at BRN, shared with The Block via email. “Maybe the double bottom holds, maybe ETF flows stabilize, maybe ETH reclaims its range.”

Misir said bitcoin has carved a double bottom near $111,115 and remains capped by resistance around $113,500. He stated that a decisive break above would open prices close to the $115,000 zone, but warned that onchain metrics still flag the risk of a drift toward $105,000–$90,000. The analysts also described ETH’s hold at $4,000 as “fragile,” with a failure there risking a slide back toward $3,800–$3,600.

The setup mirrors Powell’s own balancing act. If the Fed cuts too quickly, inflation may re-accelerate, but if it waits too long, unemployment could rise unnecessarily. For BTC and crypto, that translates into a trade dominated by price levels, not narratives. Until a breakout clears nearby resistance, the market remains range-bound, BRN’s analyst argued.

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