1 min readThe FED unsurprisingly left interest rates unchanged.
Earlier this week, the FED unsurprisingly left interest rates unchanged, and the subsequent press conference by Jerome Powell essentially laid the groundwork for a first cut in September. While leaving some room to change course in case upcoming data does not corroborate with the current plan, Powell’s comments on falling inflation and a normalising labour market reinforced market expectations for a September cut, extending a strong rally in stocks.
Going against the trend, on Wednesday, the Bank of Japan hiked rates, bringing overnight rates to their highest levels since 2008. Over the last month, the yen has strengthened 7% relative to the dollar.
On the crypto front, Spot Ethereum ETFs continue to be dragged by large outflows from the Grayscale Ethereum Trust. Since launch, all but 2 days have had net outflows, and unsurprisingly ETH has remained subdued.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs on the other hand have seen healthy inflows over the last couple of weeks, and the total net flows since launch now stand at over 18 billion dollars. On Wednesday, Grayscale transferred 10% of their Bitcoin trust assets to their low-cost mini trust alternative, issuing pro-rata shares to existing Trust shareholders, aiming to retain a larger portion of remaining assets under management.
