- Bitcoin holds near $64,037 as total crypto market cap eased to $2.19 trillion.
- Fed holds rates steady 9-3, first aligned hawkish dissent trio since 2016.
- Microsoft beats estimates, cuts FY2027 capex forecast to $175 billion.
Bitcoin traded near $64,037, up modestly on the day, while Ethereum held around $1,905, also up slightly over 24 hours. XRP traded near $1.07, DOWN nearly 5.6% for the week, and Solana climbed to $73.46, DOWN over 5% weekly.
Total crypto market capitalization stood at $2.19 trillion, up 0.47% over the past day. The Fear & Greed Index ticked up to 36, still in “fear” territory, while the Altcoin Season Index held at 51.
Trending Searches Show Sharp Gains
COTI led trending searches with a 53.9% surge over 24 hours, followed by Cash Cat, up 20.2%, while Hyperliquid’s HYPE token slipped 0.9% despite heavy search interest. The pattern shows renewed speculative appetite returning to smaller tokens following the Fed’s decision and strong tech earnings.
Fed Holds Rates, But Internal Divisions Deepen
The FOMC voted 9-3 to hold the federal funds rate at 3.5%-3.75%, with three regional Fed presidents dissenting in favor of a 25-basis-point hike, the first time since 2016 that three aligned hawkish dissents have appeared in a single decision.
Chair Jerome Powell declined to characterize the move as a pause, saying the Fed “would not hesitate to act where necessary” if inflation remains elevated, while reaffirming there is no tolerance for an inflation target above 2%.
Following the statement, market-implied odds of a September hike rose sharply, with CME FedWatch data showing a 63.2% probability of a cumulative 25-basis-point increase, up from 60.2% before the decision.
Big Tech Earnings Beat Expectations
Microsoft’s fiscal Q4 revenue reached $90.01 billion, up 18% year-over-year and above estimates, with Azure revenue surpassing $100 billion and cloud growth of 43% beating forecasts. Microsoft lowered its FY2027 capital expenditure guidance to $175 billion from a previous $190 billion estimate, easing investor concerns about runaway AI infrastructure spending and sending shares higher after hours.
Meta reported Q2 revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year-over-year, though operating profit fell 8.2% and EPS declined from the prior year. Samsung Electronics posted a blowout quarter as well, with operating profit surging over 1,800% year-over-year to 89.49 trillion won on strong AI-driven memory chip demand.
Robinhood’s Prediction Markets Business Takes the Lead
Robinhood’s Q2 event contracts revenue hit $156 million, surpassing both its crypto trading revenue ($100 million, down 38% year-over-year) and equities trading revenue ($129 million) for the first time.
Total transaction-based revenue rose 44% year-over-year to $776 million, with overall net revenue up 32% to $1.31 billion. Despite the strong quarter, Robinhood shares fell roughly 3% after hours to $86.89.
Clarity Act Ethics Talks Continue
Senators Thom Tillis and Ruben Gallego reached a preliminary agreement on tightened ethics provisions targeting officials’ crypto ties, though details remain undisclosed and the proposal still needs White House and broader Democratic support. SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the agency is “ready, willing and able” to write its own crypto rules if the bill fails to pass, while continuing to publicly back congressional passage.
Institutional and Market Structure Developments
BNY Mellon announced plans to migrate its core transfer agency recordkeeping to blockchain, covering roughly $8.6 trillion in assets and 7.6 million accounts, with BlackRock and Baillie Gifford among the first clients. CryptoRank data showed Q2 crypto funding and M&A activity reached $12.86 billion across 271 deals, up 45% from Q1, though the number of active crypto VC firms fell to its lowest level since 2020.
South Korea’s Finance Ministry announced new measures to restrict single-stock leveraged ETF trading and raise related transaction costs following recent market volatility tied to AI chip stocks.
Related: CertiK Enters Japan, Unveils Surveillance for Institutional Crypto Risks CertiK
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