Federal Reserve Keeps Interest Rates Unchanged, BlackRock Debuts New Bitcoin ETF, and Illinois Enacts Crypto Tax

Takeaways

• Federal Reserve leaves rates unchanged in Warsh’s first meeting: T But nine of 19 officials indicated the committee may need to institute one rate hike before the end of 2026 amid persistent inflation pressures that remain above the Fed’s 2% annual target. The price of bitcoin dipped slightly following the latest Fed decision, dropping below $63,000 on Thursday after Warsh pledged to “deliver price stability.”
  
  
• BlackRock debuts yield-bearing bitcoin ETF: The bitcoin price exposure comes via direct spot bitcoin holdings along with shares of iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), BlackRock’s leading flagship spot bitcoin fund. To generate yield, the fund sells call options on 25% to 35% of its IBIT holdings, then distributes it to investors. It aims to offer a 15% to 25% yield while charging a 0.65% sponsorship fee.
  
  
• Strategy buys $100M BTC and bolsters cash reserves: The move pushed Strategy’s total bitcoin treasury to 846,842 BTC, which is valued at about $53 billion at current prices. Additionally, the company increased its cash reserves by $100 million by selling common stock, bringing the reserve to $1.1 billion. Strategy stock has dropped almost 70% over the past year during the crypto bear market.
  
  
• Illinois institutes state tax on digital assets: The new law was reportedly a last-minute addition to the state’s $56 billion budget bill and targets in-state companies with total gross receipts of $100,000 or more. It could reportedly raise around $60 million. It’s unclear whether it will face any legal challenges in the coming months. It defines the taxable assets as “any single occurrence of exchanging, transferring or storing a digital asset as part of a business or on behalf of a customer."

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