Market Watch
Things to Watch This Week (July 14 - July 19)
July 15 - U.S. CPI (June)
U.S. inflation data for June will be released on Tuesday. Markets will closely watch whether continued disinflation reinforces expectations for a Fed rate cut as early as September.
Random Musing This Week
Crypto Week
This week marks a pivotal moment for U.S. crypto policy— “Crypto Week” in the House of Representatives (July 14–18). These three bills aim to bring regulatory clarity, reduce operational risk, and unlock broader institutional participation in digital assets. Three major bills are expected to define the landscape:
Genius Act
Already passed the Senate by a strong 68–30 bipartisan margin.
Creates the first federal framework for payment stablecoins, requiring full 1:1 backing (cash or short-term Treasuries), regular audits, transparency, and holder priority upon issuer distress.
Treasury forecasts the stablecoin market could expand to $2 trillion over the next decade.
Institutional backing like Amazon, Walmart, and PayPal eyed; also reshapes Treasury demand and rates. With optimistic backers like PayPal and blockchain leaders, passage in the House and a signature by President Trump are widely expected.
Clarity Act
Establishes regulatory clarity by defining what constitutes digital assets vs. securities—assigning oversight of digital commodity markets (like Bitcoin) primarily to the CFTC, and securities to the SEC.
Aims to build on prior FIT21 efforts, offering guardrails to protect consumers while enabling innovation.
With bipartisan support and little controversy, it is expected to move quickly through committee stages.
Anti‑CBDC Surveillance State Act
Prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), due to concerns about government overreach and loss of financial privacy.
Supporters argue that CBDCs could enable authorities to track, restrict, or even freeze individual transactions.
Broadly popular among Republicans and many Democrats, with a history of committee support (passed subcommittee 27–22).
Seeks to pre-empt government overreach while fostering U.S. leadership in private crypto innovation.
Recap of Top Stories (July 7 – July 11)
Interesting
Coinbase partners with Perplexity AI for real-time crypto prices
Commentary: On Thursday, the CEO of Coinbase Global (Nasdaq: COIN), Brian Armstrong, announced a partnership with Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine that answers users’ questions with cited, real-time data pulled from the web.
According to Armstrong, the move will integrate the crypto exchange’s market data into Perplexity’s large language model (LLM), further connecting AI and crypto and helping users make more informed decisions about digital assets.
US lawmakers to discuss crypto tax policy amid push to pass three bills
Commentary: Lawmakers in the US House of Representatives are scheduled to hold a hearing on a crypto tax policy framework as part of Republicans’ push to consider bills on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), stablecoins and market structure.
In a Wednesday notice, leadership on the House Committee on Ways and Means and Oversight Subcommittee said they had scheduled a July 16 hearing to focus on “affirmative steps needed to place a tax policy framework on digital assets.” The event, “ensuring digital asset policy built for the 21st century,” will come as House representatives are expected to vote on three crypto-related bills.
Crypto miner BIT Mining pivots to Solana with plan to raise up to $300 million for SOL treasury
Commentary: NYSE-listed crypto mining company BIT Mining announced a "strategic shift" into the Solana ecosystem on Thursday amid plans to raise between $200 million and $300 million to accumulate SOL in phases, based on market conditions and capital availability.
To kick off its new strategy, BIT Mining said it will convert all of its existing crypto holdings into SOL and adopt a "long-term holding strategy." The company also plans to expand its role in the Solana ecosystem further by running validator nodes to help maintain network decentralization and security while earning onchain staking rewards.
CZ's YZi Labs supports 10X Capital in launch of BNB treasury company targeting IPO
Commentary: YZi Labs, the family office investment firm belonging to former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, has announced “support” for 10X Capital to launch a BNB treasury company they aim to have trading publicly in the U.S. The move follows several other firms turning to the stockpiling of different cryptocurrencies as their prime function.
GameSquare shares surge 60% after board approves $100 million Ethereum treasury initiative
Commentary: GameSquare Holdings (GAME) saw its stock price rise nearly 60% on the Nasdaq Tuesday after it announced that its board approved plans to build a $100 million Ethereum treasury.
The company may incorporate additional yield-generating strategies within the Ethereum ecosystem, potentially utilizing stablecoins and non-fungible tokens.
Hacker drains $42 million from decentralized perpetual exchange GMX
Commentary: The decentralized perpetuals exchange GMX suffered a $42 million exploit Wednesday morning. GMX confirmed GMX V1's GLP pool on Arbitrum experienced an exploit this morning. The team disabled GMX V1 trading, as well as minting and redeeming GLP, on both Arbitrum and Avalanche "to prevent any further attack vectors and protect users from additional negative impacts," and is investigating the cause of the attack.
The exploiter then transferred funds from USDC to ETH and then to the stablecoin DAI, while also stealing millions worth of FRAX, wrapped bitcoin, wrapped ETH, and other cryptocurrencies.
Dubai approves tokenized money market fund in RWA drive
Commentary: The Dubai Financial Services Authority has approved the QCD Money Market Fund (QCDT), a joint project by Qatar National Bank (QNB) and DMZ Finance, as a tokenized money market fund within the Dubai International Financial Centre.
DMZ Finance said it will serve as the co-originator and provide specialized tokenization technology infrastructure, while QNB is set to lead fund origination and investment management.
Trump’s Truth Social files with SEC to launch ‘Crypto Blue Chip’ ETF tracking BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, and CRO
Commentary: Truth Social, the social media arm of Trump Media & Technology Group, has submitted an S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a "Crypto Blue Chip" exchange-traded fund.
The initial allocation is expected to approximate percentages by value of 70% BTC, 15% ETH, 8% SOL, 5% CRO, and 2% XRP, the filing adds.
TON coin dips 6% after UAE authorities deny golden visa claim
Commentary: The native cryptocurrency of The Open Network has retraced 6% from its 24-hour high after United Arab Emirates regulators refuted claims that staking Toncoin (TON) could create a pathway to UAE residency.
Toncoin initially shot up 10% to $3.03 on Sunday after The Open Network claimed that applicants staking $100,000 worth of Toncoin for three years make applicants eligible for the UAE’s golden visa program. However, the cryptocurrency partially retraced after the Emirates News Agency shared a joint statement from several regulators denying that claim.
Upcoming Market Events
July 15 - U.S. CPI (June)
July 25 - BTC CME July (BTCN25) Options Expiry
July 30 - U.S. FOMC Interest Rate Decision