About three weeks after each policy meeting, the Federal Reserve publishes minutes of what the FOMC discussed. This ranks the 55 release days since 2020 by the size of bitcoin’s move, rises and falls together, and quotes what each set of minutes recorded about the decision.
Data as of · 55 minutes releases, Jan 3, 2020 to Oct 7, 2026 · bitcoin daily closes (UTC) from Yahoo Finance · release dates from the Fed’s meeting calendars
Illustration: the 15 largest bitcoin moves on FOMC minutes release days since 2020, from ▼ −13.77% to ▼ −2.99%.
Bitcoin on FOMC Minutes Release Days, data as of 2026-10-21
Minutes released = the date the Fed gives for the minutes of that meeting.1 The minutes of the March 2020 meetings were released on April 8, 2020. Bitcoin, release day = UTC daily close on that date ÷ the close the day before, minus 1.2 Each move is within 0.6 percentage points of Blockchain.com’s daily average price.3 Bitcoin fell on 33 of the 55 release days, and on 9 of the 15 largest. The FOMC’s decision days have their own post: bitcoin’s biggest moves on Fed decision days. Observed facts, not a forecast.
The top 8
The FOMC is the Fed’s rate-setting committee. Its statement on decision day is brief; the minutes, released about three weeks later, summarize the discussion, including what members said about interest rates and the Fed’s bond holdings. The quotes below are the first passages in each set of minutes that state the committee’s decision or guidance.
#1
May 19, 2021 minutes of the Apr 2021 meeting
▼ −13.77%
The minutes of the meeting ending Apr 28, 2021 were released on May 19, 2021.1 They record that “All members agreed to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent, and they expected that it would be appropriate to maintain this target range until labor market conditions had reached levels consistent with the Committee's assessments of maximum employment and inflation had risen to 2 percent and was on track to moderately exceed 2 percent for some time.”4 Bitcoin’s UTC close that day was $37,002, down 13.77% from $42,909.2 The minutes are published at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, so the day’s move also includes news before and after; the data does not show that the minutes caused it.
#2
Jan 6, 2021 minutes of the Dec 2020 meeting
▲ +8.33%
The minutes of the meeting ending Dec 16, 2020 were released on Jan 6, 2021.1 They record that “All members agreed to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent, and they expected that it would be appropriate to maintain this target range until labor market conditions had reached levels consistent with the Committee's assessments of maximum employment and inflation had risen to 2 percent and was on track to moderately exceed 2 percent for some time.”5 Bitcoin’s UTC close that day was $36,824, up 8.33% from $33,992.2 The minutes are published at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, so the day’s move also includes news before and after; the data does not show that the minutes caused it.
#3
Apr 9, 2025 minutes of the Mar 2025 meeting
▲ +8.26%
The minutes of the meeting ending Mar 19, 2025 were released on Apr 9, 2025.1 They record that “In support of its goals, the Committee agreed to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4-1/4 to 4-1/2 percent.”6 Bitcoin’s UTC close that day was $82,574, up 8.26% from $76,272.2 The same day, April 9, President Trump signed Executive Order 14266, which suspended country-specific reciprocal tariff rates for 90 days and raised duties on China.7 The minutes are published at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, so the day’s move also includes news before and after; the data does not show that the minutes caused it.
#4
Aug 19, 2026 minutes of the Jul 2026 meeting
▲ +7.09%
The minutes of the meeting ending Jul 29, 2026 were released on Aug 19, 2026.1 They record that “In support of the Committee's dual-mandate goals, nine members agreed to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 3-1/2 to 3-3/4 percent and also reaffirmed the FOMC's policy of maintaining ample reserves in the banking system.”8 Bitcoin’s UTC close that day was $69,266, up 7.09% from $64,681.2 The minutes are published at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, so the day’s move also includes news before and after; the data does not show that the minutes caused it.
#5
Feb 17, 2021 minutes of the Jan 2021 meeting
▲ +5.99%
The minutes of the meeting ending Jan 27, 2021 were released on Feb 17, 2021.1 They record that “All members agreed to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent, and they expected that it would be appropriate to maintain this target range until labor market conditions had reached levels consistent with the Committee's assessments of maximum employment and inflation had risen to 2 percent and was on track to moderately exceed 2 percent for some time.”9 Bitcoin’s UTC close that day was $52,149, up 5.99% from $49,200.2 The minutes are published at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, so the day’s move also includes news before and after; the data does not show that the minutes caused it.
#6
Apr 6, 2022 minutes of the Mar 2022 meeting
▼ −5.16%
The minutes of the meeting ending Mar 16, 2022 were released on Apr 6, 2022.1 They record that “In support of these goals, the Committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 1/4 to 1/2 percent and anticipated that ongoing increases in the target range would be appropriate.”10 Bitcoin’s UTC close that day was $43,207, down 5.16% from $45,556.2 The minutes are published at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, so the day’s move also includes news before and after; the data does not show that the minutes caused it.
#7
Jan 3, 2020 minutes of the Dec 2019 meeting
▲ +5.15%
The minutes of the meeting ending Dec 11, 2019 were released on Jan 3, 2020.1 They record that “Members agreed to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 percent.”11 Bitcoin’s UTC close that day was $7,345, up 5.15% from $6,985.2 The minutes are published at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, so the day’s move also includes news before and after; the data does not show that the minutes caused it.
#8
Jan 5, 2022 minutes of the Dec 2021 meeting
▼ −5.07%
The minutes of the meeting ending Dec 15, 2021 were released on Jan 5, 2022.1 They record that “Members agreed that the postmeeting statement should be updated to reflect the Committee's assessment of the progress the economy had made toward the criteria specified in its forward guidance for the target range for the federal funds rate.”12 Bitcoin’s UTC close that day was $43,569, down 5.07% from $45,898.2 The minutes are published at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, so the day’s move also includes news before and after; the data does not show that the minutes caused it.
Blockchain.com, Market Price (USD), daily average USD price across major exchanges, via the charts API, retrieved 2026-10-21 (cross-check; its data runs to Oct 11, 2026).