Bitcoin climbed above $78,000 during European morning trading as cryptocurrency markets recovered from the anxiety that followed the Federal Reserve’s rate hike.
The biggest gains came from layer-2 and decentralised finance tokens. Starknet (STRK) rose 18%, Arbitrum (ARB) gained 17% and Uniswap (UNI) advanced 13%. The DeFi Select Index also increased by 8.3%.
Bitcoin was up 2.1% since midnight UTC, while 98 of the 100 assets tracked by CoinDesk were trading higher.
The wider market move came as pressure from macroeconomic indicators eased. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note fell back below 5%, while Brent crude dropped to less than $103.
Those moves helped reduce concerns over inflation following the Federal Reserve’s rate increase, which had weighed on sentiment across risk assets.
Bitcoin was trading at $78,022.56 in the market data cited, showing a 1.75% gain. Lido DAO was up 6.88%, while Arbitrum was listed at $0.20 with a 24.57% increase.
Among related equities, Strategy Strike Preferred was trading at $70.05, up 0.29%, with markets closed.
The rally represented a broad recovery rather than a move confined to bitcoin. Altcoins led the advance as traders shifted their attention towards sectors including layer-2 networks and DeFi.
The move followed a period of pressure for major cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin had been tested by concerns over interest-rate increases and setbacks surrounding the Clarity Act, while ether and XRP exchange-traded funds had recorded outflows even as the wider market moved higher.
Other developments in the sector included the Bank of Japan raising interest rates by 25 basis points while bitcoin traded above $77,000, and HYPE leading an altcoin rally as bitcoin recovered towards $78,000.
The gains came as financial markets continued to assess the effect of central-bank policy on cryptocurrencies. The fall in Treasury yields and oil prices offered a softer backdrop for digital assets, helping layer-2 and DeFi tokens record the strongest advances in the latest session.
