Project Crypto, Powell Holds Rates, and Figma Frenzy

This week had everything - the SEC launching something called “Project Crypto” (we're as surprised as you are), and Figma going public so hard they had to pause trading.

This Week in Crypto

Bitcoin traded sideways most of the week, slipping 0.4% over the past 24 hours and hovering just above the $118K mark yesterday. We’ve definitely seen worse weeks, so no complaints over here.

• The price slid slightly this morning, hovering just above $115K earlier today.

• Total crypto market cap is down by 3.8% - triggered by Bitcoin dropping down after its all-time high of $122K.

  

Whales continue to shop like it’s Black Friday. Seven newly created wallets have accumulated $1.7B, including $148M in ETH added just today.

The SEC actually did something to help us out, which has to be a headline of its own.

• SEC Chair Paul Atkins unveiled “Project Crypto”, a commission-wide push to modernize securities rules and move U.S. financial markets on-chain. 

• The SEC plans to develop guidelines helping market participants categorize crypto assets as digital collectibles, digital commodities, or stablecoins.

• They also approved in-kind redemptions for both Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs, which should enhance liquidity and efficiency for institutional investors.

ETH is finally getting its moment to shine. 

• Ethereum has overtaken Bitcoin in spot trading volume, signaling a potential shift in investor sentiment. 

• ETH recorded $25.7B in spot volume last week, surpassing Bitcoin’s $24.4B.

• Ethereum rose 3%, hitting $3900 and a YTD peak, while Spot ETH ETFs have recorded net inflows for 18 consecutive days - the second-longest streak since launch. 

And BNB is also up - surging past $844, up 6% in the past 24 hours. 

This Week in TradFi

Bit of a down week for the U.S. -

• The U.S. central bank held interest rates steady on Wednesday, despite pressure from President Trump.

  • Furthermore, Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments after the decision undercut confidence that the Fed would cut rates in September.

  • Powell said the Fed is focused on controlling inflation - not on government borrowing or home mortgage costs - and that the risk of increased price pressures from the administration’s trade policies remains too high for the central bank to cut rates.

  • In response, President Trump urged the Fed Reserve board to assume control if Powell continues to refuse to lower rates.

• Meanwhile, U.S. job growth slowed much more than expected in July, indicating the labor market may be stalling.

  • Nonfarms payrolls increased by 73,000 in July, after rising by 14,000 in June.

  • Unemployment rose to 4.2% in July, up slightly from 4.1% in June.

• Wall Street opened lower this morning, as new U.S. tariffs on many trading partners were announced, alongside unimpressive earnings from Amazon.

  • Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs ranging from 10%-41% on U.S. imports from countries including Canada, Brazil, India, and Taiwan.

On the international front -

• Euro zone inflation held steady at the ECB’s target of 2% in July - strengthening the case for policymakers to keep interest rates steady.

• The pound is holding steady on Friday, after having its worst monthly performance against the dollar in three years, as the U.S. dollar rallied after Trump imposed new tariffs.

  • Sterling lost nearly 4% in July, its biggest monthly decline since September 2022.

• European stocks hit a 4-week low today as investors worry about the impact of the new U.S. tariffs, including a 39% tariff on Switzerland.

• Meanwhile, Pakistan’s consumer inflation increased to 4.1% YoY in July, up from 3.2% in June - driven by rising prices for food, fuel, and medicine.

• And Indian manufacturing growth increased at its fastest rate in 16 months in July - driven by increased demand - despite business confidence falling to a three-year low.

  • New orders increased at the fastest pace in nearly five years, increasing output growth to a 15-month high.

This Week in Tech

The big news this week is Figma’s highly anticipated IPO yesterday.

• And people loved it. Figma stock increased so quickly that trading had to be halted for a short period of time.

• Within one minute of trading, Figma’s market cap hit $45B, with stock price bouncing between $101 and $124. It ultimately closed yesterday at $115.50 and a $47B market cap.

• The company and existing investors sold shares at the IPO price of $33/share - massive growth.

• And stock price continued to rise this morning, hitting as high as $120/share.

Jack Dorsey’s new Bluetooth messaging app Bitchat is now available on the App Store.

• Bitchat operates through Bluetooth mesh networks, meaning users can send messages to other people within the range of Bluetooth connectivity, around 100 meters, without cell reception or Wifi.

• The app’s UX is currently very minimal. There’s no login; you’re simply brought to an instant messaging box, where you can see what nearby users are talking about.

• Bitchat isn’t the first Bluetooth messaging app around. Bridgefy was used during pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

• The app has seen some controversy, with security experts calling into question how secure the app truly is. Funnily enough, Dorsey admits to having coded the basis of the app over the course of just a week in early July.

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

• Ramp has raised another $500M at a $22.5B valuation, led by Iconiq Growth.

• AI-powered marketing automation startup Conversion has raised a $28M Series A, led by Abstract.

• PlayerZero has raised $15M to prevent AI agents from shipping buggy code.

• AI data analyst startup Julius AI has raised a $10M seed round, led by Bessemer Venture Partners.

Arch is building a 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.

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