U.S. government's BTC, Stocks soaring, and China's Nvidia rival

Given the summer holidays, I expect many of you are enjoying the sun rather than starting at the 1-minute chart. And you’re better off for it too - while the Nasdaq caught a bid, Bitcoin and crypto markets have been weak.

This Week in Crypto

In all honesty, it was reasonably light on the crypto front this week. I might struggle with word count! I suppose we could shamelessly kick off with this Arch announcement:

We’re delighted to have Grayscale’s former CEO onboard and relish the expertise he will bring in delivering products to our clients. Stay tuned as there will be a slew of more high-profile Arch headlines over the coming weeks!

On the ETF front, it was fairly muted this week - the only interesting tidbit to note was the disparities in flows whereby ETH saw a net inflow and BTC saw an outflow.

The U.S. government is moving around lots of Bitcoin again and people are scared - given that the U.S. Marshall office signed a deal with Coinbase custody, we’re speculating this is just a simple logistical movement rather than anything sinister (by sinister I mean selling).

I’ll leave you with some headlines, of which there were many:

• Marathon digital is raising $250M to buy Bitcoin.

• Coinbase is teasing the release of cbBTC, perhaps capitalizing on the BitGo/WBTC drama of this week.

• Metamask is launching a debit card (we asked for a freaking airdrop not a debit card).

• Morgan Stanley discloses $187 million Bitcoin ETF holdings.

• SEC approves the first leverage long MicroStrategy ETF (lol).

This Week in TradFi

Readers can rejoice; we have a positive TradFi section for you. 

Your wallet won’t be hurting as much this week, with U.S. stocks finally closing on a more positive note.

• Stocks soared yesterday after the latest retail sales report showed that U.S. consumers remain resilient. Retail sales increased 1% last month, far above the predicted 0.4% increase. 

• Walmart also released earnings this week, with Q2 revenue growing to $169.3B vs $168.5B expected. 

The newest U.S. inflation report shows that inflation is continuing to cool, with CPI down to 2.9%, the slowest pace we’ve seen since March 2021. 

• The biggest cause of continued inflation is - you guessed it - shelter costs, which increased 0.4% last month. Food costs increased 2.2%, and energy costs increased 1.1% annually.

• Though unemployment continues to increase and hiring continues to slow, unemployment claims fell more than forecasted, also helping spur this week’s market surge.

• The coupling of this news means we may actually see the September rate cut everyone has been hoping for. Traders are expecting a 25-50 basis point cut, likely dependent on the August jobs report.

And news from across the water: 

• UK retail sales rose 0.5% in July following a slowdown in June. The Bank of England has already cut rates once this year and is anticipated to cut rates once more, with inflation worries calming.

• The yen has fallen 5% since its seven-month high, and investors continue to remain bearish on Japanese stocks after last week’s turbulence. The BOJ will likely pause its interest rate increase given Prime Minister’s Kishida’s decision to step down as well. 

This Week in Tech

Google’s annual Made by Google event was this week, and we’ve consolidated the biggest releases and updates for you: 

• Of course, Google wasn’t going to back down on the AI front. Google Assistant has officially been replaced by Gemini, and Gemini Live is now available for select Android users, which allows for actual conversations between a user and the AI. Who needs human interaction when you have your phone? 

• On the hardware front, Google unveiled three new phones in the Pixel 9 lineup, alongside the Pixel Buds Pro 2 and Pixel Watch 3. 

• And our favorite update - the debut of Pixel Weather. Google’s new weather app will have AI capabilities (whatever that entails!) and will only show users the weather information they actually care about. 

Chinese tech conglomerate Huawei has reportedly created an advanced AI chip that will rival Nvidia’s, debuting in October.

• Outlets report customers already include TikTok parent company ByteDance and telecom giant China Mobile. 

• Chips are expected to sell quickly in China, as the U.S. continues to sanction China in this market. Last May, the U.S. government banned Huawei from buying chips from Intel and Qualcomm, and President Biden is reported to be considering further restrictions.

• Though Nvidia is currently barred from selling its chips in China, the company is currently working on a China-specific chip that may be able to compete in the Chinese markets - all dependent on whether the U.S. approves.  

As usual, below are some fundraising announcements, M&A, and tech personnel changes that caught our eye:

• Lockheed Martin is buying satellite manufacturer Terran Orbital for $450M, $0.25 per share. 

• In its second layoff of the year, Cisco is laying off 7% of its workforce, around 5500 employees.

• Kiteworks, a cybersecurity company, raised $456M from Insight Partners and Sixth Street Growth at a valuation of over $1B.

• We know you already know this one, but just in case you’re living under a rock - Starbucks has tapped former Chipotle CEO (and once upon a time Taco Bell CEO) Brian Niccol to be their new CEO.

Arch is building next-gen wealth management platform for individuals holding Alternative Assets. Our flagship product is the crypto-backed loan, which allows you to securely and affordably borrow against your crypto. We also offer access to bank-grade custody, trading and staking services, powered by BitGo.

Disclaimer: None of the above is financial advice, seriously.