Bitcoin and crypto prices have stabilized after teetering on the edge of another tumble yesterday

The bitcoin price dropped sharply toward $100,000 before bouncing back to around $102,000 though bitcoin and crypto remain subdued

Bitcoin and major cryptocurrency prices have climbed today after the Federal Reserve followed through with its well-telegraphed pause of interest rate cuts, with bitcoin now rallying above $105,000.

Bitcoin rose sharply from around the $104,000 mark to highs of $105,240 at the time of writing, according to data from Coinbase. The bitcoin price later dropped back to around $104,800.

Meanwhile, the prices of other major cryptocurrencies also climbed today, with ethereum up around 1.7% over the last 24 hours to $3,220 and XRP rallying 2.2% to trade at $0.92.

Bitcoin and crypto prices reacted positively to dovish comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell that indicated he expects inflation to continue easing.

"We do expect inflation to come down further this year, and we expect core PCE [personal consumption expenditures price index] inflation to continue to ease," Powell said at a press conference following the Fed's rate decision.

"We expect that to continue over the course of the year, and we're certainly looking for that to happen. But even with the recent improvement, inflation is still unacceptably high, and we're certainly not declaring victory or anything like that on inflation."

Powell also opened the door for banks to start serving crypto companies, provided they take proper precautions. "Banks are perfectly able to serve crypto customers as long as they can understand and service the risks," Powell said.

Bitcoin and crypto prices had risen into the Fed meeting as traders priced in a near-100% certainty that the Fed's rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) would keep interest rates on hold, according to the CME Group FedWatch Tool.

The Fed cut rates at each of its last three meetings before pausing in March as inflation began to ease from highs of 9.1% in June 2022. The Fed began cutting rates in February 2023.

Elsewhere, U.S. president Donald Trump criticized the Fed and Powell, accusing them of failing to get a handle on inflation and the economy and putting pressure on Powell to bring interest rates down through 2025.

"Because Jay Powell and the Fed failed to stop the problem they created with inflation, I will do it by unleashing American energy production, slashing regulation, rebalancing international trade, and reigniting American manufacturing, but I will do much more than stopping inflation, I will make our country financially, and otherwise, powerful again," Trump posted to his Truth Social account.

"The Fed has done a terrible job on bank regulation. Treasury is going to lead the effort to cut unnecessary regulation, and will unleash lending for all American people and businesses. If the Fed had spent less time on DEI, gender ideology, 'green' energy, and fake climate change, inflation would never have been a problem."

The rate decision will be released Wednesday at 2pm ET, followed by the all-important press conference led by Fed chair Jerome Powell in which reporters will press him for a reaction to Trump's comments that interest rates should come down by "a lot."

"I think I know interest rates much better than they do, and I think I know them certainly much better than the one who’s primarily in charge of making that decision," Trump said last week.