Ethereum sentiment crashes after FOMC rate cut

The ETH social mood turned from hype to frustration within hours, as the rally faded just after the Fed’s expected 25 basis point rate cut.

The Federal Reserve made its third straight rate cut of 25 basis points on December 10, confirming the easing path most traders had been waiting for.

Although the decision briefly lifted the crypto markets, the mood around Ethereum (ETH) on social media changed from euphoria to frustration within hours as prices reversed sharply.

The reversal shows how quickly retail enthusiasm can turn, especially during macro-driven rallies that often fade away once the announcement actually arrives.

The Fed’s action comes as traders are split between optimism and panic

Prior to Jerome Powell’s announcement, Polymarket bettors had almost unanimously been leaning toward a cut in December, reflecting the same confidence as at the October meeting. That optimism also showed up on crypto analysis by sentiment tracker Santiment.

But the build-up did not go entirely smoothly. About an hour before Powell spoke, a whale was spotted unloading about $100 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC), sparking a flurry of speculation about whether insiders were preparing for a surprise.

Nevertheless, the decision met expectations, and the Fed confirmed that it would resume short-term purchases of government bonds from December to prevent bank reserves from falling too low.

Greeks.live options analysts added more nuance on December 11 noticing that the new T-bill program, initially around $40 billion, provides a supportive backdrop but should not be mistaken for the beginning of a new expansion cycle.

You might also like:

With liquidity declining at the end of the year, they warned that crypto markets tend to remain quiet and options positioning is currently defensive, with puts trading becoming more expensive.

Ethereum sentiment turns as price drops

Ethereum climbed towards $3,433 during the post-FOMC enthusiasm, but retail traders chasing the move were quickly caught on the wrong side as the price fell back to $3,170. Santiment’s sentiment scores showed that ETH’s positive/negative ratio peaked at the top, but then collapsed as the pullback took hold.

“What should be bullish news is actually seeing a bearish effect in the short term as all the retail traders are buying and bigger whales are happily selling their coins to them during the mini-rally caused by a US interest rate cut,” Santiment explains.

Over a broader time frame, ETH performance remains mixed, with the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency down around 3% today and almost 10% over the past month, although still slightly higher than last week.

Bitcoin was also under similar pressure. After briefly touching around $94,000 during the announcement period, the price action cooled, with the OG crypto changing hands at just over $90,000 at the time of writing, which is down around 2% in the last 24 hours and 3% in seven days.

That said, some analysts believe digital assets could rebound as liquidity improves in early 2026, and smart money wallets have accumulated more than 42,000 BTC since late November, suggesting larger investors are positioning themselves early.

“If U.S. inflation continues to drift toward the target and economic data remains stable, 2026 could give digital assets the breathing room they’ve been waiting for,” Santiment wrote.