Ethereum ( ETH-USD ), the world's largest altcoin by market cap, advanced 4.4% in Thursday late afternoon trading as crypto-market traders shook off the Federal Reserve's anti-inflation rhetoric. The U.S. central bank on Wednesday raised interest rates by 25 basis points as expected. But crypto prices had only started to drop after Fed Chair Jerome Powell pushed back against cutting rates for this year with inflation still well above target. Shortly after reaching as low as $1.73K in the prior session, ether ( ETH-USD ) jumped to a new week high of $1.85K, before paring back some of those gains to $1.81K as of 4:29 p.m. ET. SA contributor Dhierin Bechai talked about the risks and benefits of staking ether and how it could ultimately result in higher prices for the token .