Bitcoin, ether keep grinding higher as Federal Reserve meeting nears

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) and ethereum (ETH-USD) are seeing further relief in a move that reflects trader's widened risk appetite in the cryptocurrency market ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting. The world's largest digital token by market cap is jumping 7.7% to $24.03K as of shortly before 10:00 a.m. ET, and ether (ETH-USD) is rising 3.8% to $1.61K over the past 24 hours. Some other major cryptos leading the relief rally include dogecoin (DOGE-USD) +8.6%, cardano (ADA-USD) +5.3% and shiba inu (SHIB-USD) +7.3%. Traders will be eyeing the Fed's interest rate decision on July 27. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets are pricing in a 66.8% probability of a 75 basis point rate hike, which would be a softer move than a week prior when markets saw an 80.3% chance that the Fed will lift its target range by 100 bps. “The market needs a little more assurance for deceleration in the pace of rate hike by the Fed,” crypto lender Nexo CEO Antoni Trenchev told CNBC. “Nevertheless, a short-term outlook for bitcoin is bullish and it could go as high as around $29k this week,” he added.Crypto-related stocks are also climbing in early morning trading: Stronghold Digital Mining (SDIG) +26.2%, Galaxy Digital (OTCPK:BRPHF) +14.1%, Coinbase Global (COIN) +5%, Silvergate Capital (SI) +8.3%, Bakkt (BKKT) +6%, Marathon Digital (MARA) +6%.and MicroStrategy (MSTR) +6.2%. Earlier this week, (July 19) Strike CEO Jack Mallers said bitcoin's cyclical slump hasn't changed the token's fundamentals.