On Wednesday, US stock indices opened, with the Nasdaq index down 0.83% during the session, the S&P 500 index down 0.36%, and gold up 0.85%. Powell will deliver a speech on Friday at the Jackson Hole annual meeting regarding the assessment of the Federal Reserve's policy framework. US Treasury Secretary Becerra stated that he will start meeting with 11 strong candidates around September 1 to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Powell.
Back to the point:
The US Treasury is seeking public input to understand how financial institutions should combat illegal activities involving cryptocurrencies, a requirement that came when the landmark stablecoin bill was signed into law last month. The new law (Guidance and Establishment of the US National Stablecoin Innovation Act) instructs the Treasury to inquire about application programming and blockchain technology usage. Treasury Secretary Becerra stated that the implementation of the (GENIUS Act) is crucial for ensuring the US's position in the digital asset space, as stablecoins will expand the channels for US dollar usage and lead to a surge in demand for US Treasury bonds supporting stablecoins. Paul Atkins, head of the SEC, stated at a blockchain seminar that very few tokens fall under the category of securities, depending on their accompanying schemes and sales methods, and the SEC supports innovation, emphasizing that now is the time to embrace innovation. A framework for the crypto market must be built to withstand regulatory arbitrage and ensure it is future-oriented, and he looks forward to working with other departments and Congress on this mission. The SEC delayed its approval decision for the application of BTC and ETH ETFs by Trump Media & Technology Group's social platform Truth Social. Also delayed on the same day were the CoinShares LTC ETF, CoinShares XRP ETF, and 21Shares XRP ETF, with decisions on these products pushed to late October.
Publicly listed company SharpLink has increased its holdings by 143,593 ETH, totaling 740,760 BTC. Publicly listed company KindlyMD announced an investment of nearly $679 million to acquire 5,743.91 BTC. According to ai_9684xtpa data, currently, only 3 out of the top 20 addresses on Hyperliquid are in profit, while 85% are in loss. According to the Financial Times, Treasury Secretary Becerra bets that the cryptocurrency industry will become a key buyer of US Treasury bonds in the coming years. The US government is currently seeking to support the demand for massive new debt, and the Treasury hopes that stablecoins will become a key source of demand for US bonds, which is also the latest sign of the White House pushing cryptocurrencies into the US financial center. Bernstein's report states that although prices have cooled recently, the current cryptocurrency bull market may continue until 2027 due to US policy support and increasing institutional adoption, expecting BTC to rise to $150,000 to $200,000 within the next year. CryptoQuant analyst Axel noted that this pullback has been relatively mild, with BTC declining 8% from local highs, forming a dense demand range at $109,600 and $106,800, where a stabilization attempt and rebound trend are expected. On August 18, US BTC spot ETFs saw outflows of $121.7 million, while ETH spot ETFs saw outflows of $196.6 million. The US spot ETH ETF holds 6.3 million ETH (approximately $26.7 billion), accounting for nearly 5.1% of ETH's current total supply.
Cointelegraph reported that addresses holding 10 to 100,000 BTC have accumulated 20,061 BTC since last week's pullback, totaling 225,320 BTC since March. BitMine Immersion Technologies, a publicly listed company on US stock exchanges, increased its holdings by 373,000 ETH, raising its total from 1.15 million to 1.52 million ETH.
According to validatorqueue data, the ETH PoS exit queue currently reports 910,461 ETH, worth approximately $3.91 billion, with about 268,217 ETH queued to enter. Anthony Scaramucci, CEO of SkyBridge Capital, told CNBC that despite recent market pullbacks, he maintains his prediction of BTC reaching $180,000 to $200,000 by year-end, noting that institutions are continuously entering the market, primarily driven by institutional investors. BTC's performance is propelled by supply and institutional allocation demand, with the latter seeking to hedge against US fiscal policy risks. "Fed mouthpiece" journalist Nick Timiraos stated that economists expect a core PCE inflation rate of 0.28% for July (equivalent to an annual rate of 3.4%) after converting CPI and PPI data into the PCE metric, with a year-on-year increase rising to 2.9%. The overall PCE inflation rate is expected to be moderate, with a month-on-month increase of 0.21% and a year-on-year increase remaining at 2.6%. Treasury Secretary Becerra stated that he will start meeting with 11 strong candidates around September 1 to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Powell, aiming to reduce the list before submitting it to Trump.
Trump again urged Powell to cut rates, saying: Can someone please tell Jerome, "It's too late; his actions are greatly damaging the real estate industry? People are unable to obtain mortgages because of him, and all signs point to the absence of inflation. A significant rate cut, "too late," is a disaster!
Federal Reserve Chairman Powell will deliver a speech on Friday at the Jackson Hole annual meeting regarding the assessment of the Federal Reserve's policy framework. State Street predicts that Powell may pave the way for a rate cut in September, continuing until the end of the year. UBS suggests that given last week's data, Powell may be willing to hint at the Fed's inclination to cut rates in September. Russell Investments views a rate cut in September as "possible" rather than "certain." Goldman Sachs predicts that the Fed will ultimately lower rates to between 3% and 3.25%. On Wednesday, US stock indices opened, with the Nasdaq index down 0.83%, the S&P 500 index down 0.36%, gold up 0.85%, BTC up 0.5%, and ETH up 3.3%. In previous Jackson Hole meetings, Powell has taken decisive action and even clearly hinted at interest rate hikes or cuts, and he is expected to take a clear stance this time as well. This meeting will serve as a prelude to the September interest rate meeting, with the market generally expecting a 25 basis point cut. Trump and Treasury Secretary Becerra, among others, are also pressuring the Fed to significantly lower interest rates. Interestingly, among the potential successors to Powell, three current Fed members—Bowman, Jefferson, and Logan—are included, while Trump is attempting to dismiss current Fed Governor Cook, following the resignation of another governor, Quarles. There are 11 members with voting rights in the Fed, with Waller and Bowman clearly supporting a rate cut, and Trump is trying to reduce the wait-and-see faction and expand the rate-cutting faction in various ways to facilitate a rate cut by the Fed in September. The Fed will announce the minutes of its monetary policy meeting at 2:00 AM Thursday, which warrants attention. If a rate cut is successfully achieved in September, it will enter a new phase of a bull market cycle, also referred to as a bull market bubble period caused by the Fed's rate cuts/injections, with this round of rate cut expectations lasting until mid-2026, until the neutral rate approaches 3% (currently 4.25% - 4.5%). Hope for a smooth outcome.
