RBI lifts repo rate to 5.50 percent for first time since 2023

India’s central bank just raised its benchmark rate 25 basis points to 5.50 percent for the first time since 2023, tightening liquidity in the world’s fastest-growing major economy while global yields already sit at multi-year highs.

The move collides with off-exchange Bitcoin accumulation that has yet to absorb leveraged selling pressure, leaving price pinned near 84,000 after a 1.45 percent drop. A clean break below 83,500 would confirm that miner hashrate stabilization and Lightning channel contraction have not restored conviction strong enough to override higher-for-longer borrowing costs.

Whether the RBI’s calibrated tightening spreads to other emerging markets or stays isolated remains the open variable that determines if today’s flows mark a local bottom or the start of a broader risk-asset repricing.