Bitcoin gave back part of an early rally on Wednesday after climbing above $81,000 as traders positioned for the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision. Ether was near $2,360, while XRP traded around $1. Hyperliquid led major tokens with a gain of nearly 6%, followed by advances of about 5% for Zcash, 4% for Dogecoin, and roughly 3% for BNB and Solana.
Traders were watching for clues about whether another increase could come before the end of the year. Higher borrowing costs and stronger Treasury yields can weigh on risk-sensitive assets, leaving bitcoin vulnerable when expectations for tighter policy rise.
Strategy’s proposed change to its preferred-stock dividend schedule was another major development. If approved and made effective, each calendar day would become a dividend record date, with declared dividends paid on the next business day. For STRC, the first payment under the proposed schedule is expected Nov. 2, based on a Nov. 1 record date.
The change would not alter the preferred series’ stated dividend rates, total regular dividends or Strategy’s overall payment obligations. Strategy’s October filing describes the November STRC plan as conditional on shareholder approval and the effectiveness of an amended certificate by Nov. The proposed schedule keeps the 12% annualized rate for November and would distribute a total of $1 per share across the month, replacing the existing twice-monthly cadence if the conditions are met.
The firm estimated that institutions could allocate 1% to 5% of $147 trillion in assets to bitcoin, representing potential demand of $1. 5 trillion to $7 trillion. It also pointed to bitcoin’s 50% decline from October 2025 to June 2026 as smaller than earlier bear-market losses of at least 77%, while attributing its revised outlook to institutional adoption, regulatory progress and limited supply.