Market Watch
Things to Watch This Week (July 28 - August 2)
July 30 - U.S. FOMC Interest Rate Decision
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold interest rates steady at this week’s policy meeting, with investor focus shifting to any signals about the timing of future rate cuts. Key data releases including the July jobs report could heavily influence the Fed’s outlook and shape market expectations around policy easing later this year.
Random Musing This Week
Strategy’s STRC
Last week, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) launched its latest financial innovation: STRC (Stretch Preferred Stock) - a publicly listed, bitcoin-backed income instrument designed to feel more like a stable-yield bond than a crypto speculation bet.
While the firm has previously issued preferred shares (STRD, STRF, STRK), STRC marks a significant leap in product design, investor reach, and risk management.
What Makes STRC Different?
Strategic Implications
STRC isn’t just another vehicle to accumulate bitcoin — it’s designed to behave more like a high-yield, cash-equivalent financial instrument, directly competing with money market funds (MMFs) and stablecoins. Put simply, Strategy is attempting to financialize BTC reserves and package them in a way that appeals to conservative, yield-focused capital.
In parallel, even JPMorgan — long skeptical of crypto — is now reportedly exploring crypto-collateralized lending. When TradFi giants and crypto-native firms converge around the same thesis — crypto as usable collateral — it signals a broader structural shift.
Recap of Top Stories (July 21 – July 25)
Interesting
Commentary: Dragonfly has confirmed that U.S. government is considering charges against the venture firm for its early support of Tornado Cash, a decentralized mixing service in the center of an ongoing legal dispute.
The news comes in the mid of an ongoing lawsuit against Roman Storm, one of the co-founders of Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixer designed to hide to origin Ethereum-based assets. Storm faces charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and sanctions violations.
Ethereum holding company GameSquare purchases CryptoPunk NFT as treasury asset for $5.15 million in preferred shares
Commentary: In something of a novel move for the increasingly saturated crypto treasury space, Ethereum holding company GameSquare (ticker GAME) has acquired a CryptoPunk NFT. The firm says it will now hold the “iconic” piece as a “strategic treasury asset.”
GameSquare purchased the token — Punk #5577, one of just 24 “Ape Punks” — for $5.15 million in an equity trade with its previous owner, DeFi OG Robert Leshner. The preferred stock will be convertible into common shares at $1.50 per share.
Anchorage Digital announces stablecoin issuance platform on GENIUS' heels
Commentary: Anchorage Digital, an institutionally-focused digital asset service provider, announced the launch of a stablecoin issuance platform on Thursday, tapping synthetic dollar and stablecoin issuer Ethena as its first partner client.
The company will launch Ethena’s USDtb stablecoin in the United States, according to an announcement made on Thursday. Currently, USDtb is issued offshore. Issuing USDtb in the US will make the stablecoin fully compliant under the GENIUS stablecoin regulation, signed into law by US President Donald Trump in July.
WisdomTree’s USDW stablecoin to pay dividends on tokenized assets
Commentary: Global asset manager WisdomTree has entered the full-stack stablecoin space following the passage of the US GENIUS Act, aiming to strengthen digital dollar infrastructure for its onchain financial products.
WisdomTree’s US dollar-backed stablecoin, USDW, is a key component of its integrated strategy to serve both retail and institutional users, according to Will Peck, head of digital assets at WisdomTree. Investors will receive dividends in USDW on eligible assets or reinvest them through a dividend reinvestment program where available, Peck said.
BNY, Goldman Sachs ink tokenized money market fund deal to bring $7.1 trillion industry onchain
Commentary: Bank of New York Mellon and Goldman Sachs on Wednesday launched a blockchain-based system that issues “mirror” tokens of money market fund shares, letting institutional investors subscribe and redeem through BNY’s LiquidityDirect platform while ownership is recorded on Goldman’s GS DAP ledger, marking the first U.S. rollout of tokenized MMF shares by major lenders.
Under the initiative, BNY will keep the official books and settlement records for participating funds, which reportedly already includes products from BlackRock, Fidelity, Federated Hermes, BNY’s Dreyfus unit, and Goldman Sachs Asset Management. BNY will also create digital token representations simultaneously, designed to boost collateral mobility and transferability.
Strategy launches Bitcoin stock pegged at $100 to increase treasury
Commentary: Strategy, the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, is launching a new type of stock offering to raise additional funds for further investment in the cryptocurrency. Michael Saylor’s Strategy announced plans to conduct an initial public offering of 5 million shares of Strategy’s Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock (STRC).
Strategy will use the net proceeds for “general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of Bitcoin and for working capital,” it announced on Monday. Unlike previous offerings, the STRC Stock will accumulate cumulative dividends at a variable rate on the stated amount of $100 per share. The initial monthly regular dividend will be 9% annually.
JPMorgan Chase explores lending secured by clients’ cryptocurrencies
Commentary: JPMorgan Chase is exploring plans to offer loans secured by customers’ cryptocurrency holdings, signaling a broader embrace of crypto assets by traditional financial institutions, according to the Financial Times.
FT reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter, that the bank is weighing plans to allow clients to borrow against crypto assets such as bitcoin and ether as early as next year, though the details remain subject to change.
BitGo files for US IPO as crypto custody business surpasses $100B
Commentary: Digital asset custodian BitGo has filed paperwork to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States, highlighting the crypto industry’s continued push toward mainstream financial markets.
On Monday, BitGo announced it had confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a proposed IPO of its Class A common stock. At the time of filing, no determination was made on the number of shares or price range of the stock offering.
Trump’s media company reports $2B in Bitcoin after crypto bills pass US House
Commentary: Trump Media and Technology Group, the company that owns US President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform, said it held about $2 billion in “Bitcoin and Bitcoin-related securities” just a few days after significant cryptocurrency bills pushed by Trump advanced in Congress.
In a Monday notice, Trump Media said it had acquired Bitcoin as part of an investment strategy announced in May, in which it allocated $1.5 billion from stock sales and $1 billion from convertible senior secured bonds to purchase the cryptocurrency.
Upcoming Market Events
July 30 - U.S. FOMC Interest Rate Decision
August 12 - U.S. CPI (July)
August 29 - BTC CME August (BTCQ25) Options Expiry