Bitcoin Rebounds as Fed Hikes Rates, Clarity Act Hangs in Balance, and Deutsche Bank Moves Into Crypto Custody

Bitcoin posted its third consecutive day of gains Thursday, climbing back toward $78,000 after dipping to a low of $75,972 overnight. The recovery came even as the Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to raise its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point to a range of 3.75% to 4%, with the median projection now placing the rate at 4.1% by year-end. Layer-2 and DeFi tokens led the broader market higher, with Starknet and Arbitrum each surging more than 17%, and 98 of the CoinDesk 100 constituents advancing on the day.

The crypto industry is simultaneously navigating a precarious legislative moment. CNBC reports that the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, the sector's most ambitious regulatory bet, remains deeply uncertain ahead of the midterm elections. Andrew Cuomo, a board member at OKX, warned that a shift in House control following the midterms could produce years of regulatory conflict if the bill fails to pass. Industry executives say the sector is preparing to advance without Clarity, though durable legislation would help attract long-term institutional capital.

Deutsche Bank Brings Bitcoin Custody to European Institutions

On the institutional front, Deutsche Bank announced plans to launch Bitcoin custody services in 2026, extending crypto access to a banking group managing $2.217 trillion in assets under management. The move, reported by Bitcoin.com, marks one of the most significant steps yet by a major European bank to formally integrate digital asset infrastructure into its core business offerings.

The news arrives as the broader crypto ETF landscape continues to expand rapidly. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart noted that at least 126 additional crypto ETP filings are pending with regulators, with asset manager Bitwise projecting that more than 100 new crypto ETFs could launch in the U.S. as approval timelines compress. XRP ETF assets entered September near $1.5 billion, with one major fund already exceeding $500 million, underscoring how quickly institutional access to altcoins has developed even amid volatile token prices.