“MUST CUT INTEREST RATES, NOW”
U.S. markets are positioned for a potential Federal Reserve rate cut, widely expected at 25 basis points, with speculation that easing could extend into 2026. Major equity indices opened higher, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq near record highs, while the U.S. dollar weakened ahead of the FOMC meeting. Gold continued its rally, surpassing $3,690 per ounce, supported by a softer dollar, lower Treasury yields, and investor positioning. Bitwise filed for an AVAX ETF, while the REX-Osprey XRP ETF is set to launch, expanding institutional access to digital assets. Venture and corporate activity remain strong, with Helius Medical securing $500M for a SOL treasury and SC Ventures planning a $250M digital assets fund.

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Daily Updates:
- The Federal Reserve begins its two-day policy meeting today.
- Stephen Miran, a senior economic adviser to President Trump, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Monday to serve on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors.
- Miran previously served as a senior strategist at Hudson Bay, an investment firm involved in trading claims related to the FTX bankruptcy, and has publicly advocated for streamlined cryptocurrency regulations.
- At the same time, a U.S. appeals court rejected the Trump administration’s request to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook, appointed by President Biden, ahead of the meeting.
- The central bank faces unusual pressures, with markets widely expecting a 25bps rate cut, the first since December, and growing speculation that the easing cycle could continue into next year.
- The political environment adds further complexity, with the President Trump publicly calling on Fed Chair Jerome Powell to adjust policy in the Truth social media:
“Too Late. MUST CUT INTEREST RATES, NOW, AND BIGGER THAN HE HAD IN MIND. HOUSING WILL SOAR!!!”
- The UK unemployment rate held at 4.7% in the three months to July 2025, unchanged from the previous period and the highest since late 2021. Increases were recorded among those unemployed for both 6–12 months and over a year, with joblessness rising across all duration groups compared with a year earlier.
- Employment, however, continued to expand, rising by 232,000 to a record 34.2M.
- Gold extended its record-breaking rally, with prices climbing to around $3,690 per ounce on Tuesday, building on Monday’s surge when spot gold rose 1.1% to $3,680.80.
- December futures also settled 0.8% higher at $3,719. The gains have been underpinned by a weaker dollar, softer Treasury yields, and strong investor positioning ahead of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting beginning today.
- Major U.S. stock indices also opened the week with gains, supported by expectations of a 25-basis-point Federal Reserve rate cut at tomorrow’s FOMC meeting.
- The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both climbed to fresh all-time highs, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose modestly, remaining below last week’s record peak of 46,137.20.
- The Dow was up 93 points (+0.20%) at 45,926.77, the S&P 500 rose 30 points (+0.46%) to 6,614.50, just shy of its new record at 6,614.81, and the Nasdaq added 140 points (+0.63%) to 22,281.47, slightly below its all-time high of 22,290.61.
- The U.S. dollar has weakened ahead of tomorrow’s FOMC meeting.
- The Dollar Index (DXY) is currently approaching 97.10, a level where buying activity has previously prevented further declines.
- Helius Medical Technologies (Nasdaq: HSDT) has secured over $500M to launch a SOL treasury as the company’s primary reserve asset.
- Funding was led by Pantera Capital and Summer Capital, with additional participation from major investors including Animoca Brands, FalconX, Arrington Capital, and HashKey Capital.
- The offering includes stapled warrants, giving investors the option to purchase common stock at $10.134 each over three years, which is exercised could expand the total investment potential to $1.25B.
- SC Ventures, the venture capital arm of Standard Chartered, is planning to raise $250M for a fund focused on investments in digital assets within the financial services sector, according to Bloomberg.
- The firm aims to launch the fund in 2026, with backing from investors in the Middle East, highlighting the region’s growing role in blockchain and crypto innovation.
- Crypto asset manager Bitwise filed yesterday an S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking AVAX, the native token of the Avalanche Layer 1 blockchain.
- According to the document, the ETF would provide investors a traditional brokerage route to access Avalanche without directly holding or trading the tokens, allowing more efficient execution of strategic and tactical asset allocation strategies.
- The fund would track the CME CF Avalanche–Dollar Reference Rate, hold AVAX tokens directly, and not use derivatives.
- The new filing positions Bitwise alongside competitors such as Grayscale and VanEck, who are also seeking to offer AVAX-focused investment products.
- At BaseCamp 2025 yesterday, Base, Coincase’s Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain, announced it is beginning to explore a potential network token. However, there are no concrete plans or timelines that have been shared.
- Base also unveiled an open-source bridge to Solana, new features in the Base app beta, and a redesigned Base Build dashboard, all aimed at making it easier for developers to build, grow, and earn onchain.
- The REX-Osprey XRP ETF ($XRPR), is set to launch this week marking the first U.S. XRP-based spot-exposed ETF.
- According to the SEC Filing, the Fund will hold at least 80% of its assets tied to XRP or related instruments through the REX-Osprey™ XRP Subsidiary. Additionally, it can use derivatives such as futures and swaps, or allocate to other crypto ETFs, including those linked to bitcoin and ether, depending on market conditions.
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