🌳 Yen Weakens to Near Its 38-Year Low; US Government Transfers BTC Seized From Drug Trafficking to Coinbase Prime

Macro & TradFi

The Japanese yen nearly reached its 38-year low (https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/27/yen-crosses-160-against-dollar.html)against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, touching 160.82 yen per dollar according to FactSet data. This surpassed the previous record set on April 29 and marked the yen's weakest point since 1986. The sharp depreciation has, again, raised speculation about potential intervention by Japanese authorities to stabilize the currency. Japan's Ministry of Finance confirmed previous intervention in May, disclosing a substantial expenditure of 9.7885 trillion yen ($62.25 billion) from late April to late May to support the yen. Analysts, including Carol Kong from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, suggest that upcoming U.S. economic data releases, such as the May personal consumption expenditures report, could trigger further yen weakness and potentially prompt Japanese intervention to mitigate currency volatility. Masato Kanda, Japan's top currency diplomat, expressed serious concern about the yen's rapid decline, attributing it largely to speculative activity and indicating readiness to take action if necessary. All eyes will be on the US Core PCE Price Index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, due this Friday at 20:30 SGT.

Elsewhere, BlackRock Inc (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-26/blackrock-muscles-into-private-assets-market-for-wealth-clients). is expanding its reach in private-market investing by partnering with GeoWealth to integrate private equity and debt funds into model portfolios for wealthy U.S. retail clients. This strategic move aims to meet growing investor demand for diversified and higher-yield assets, enhancing BlackRock's position as a comprehensive investment solutions provider. With the U.S. wealth market identified as a significant growth opportunity, BlackRock anticipates its model portfolio business to double in assets to approximately $10 trillion over the next five years, building on its existing $125 billion in managed model portfolios for U.S. clients.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks showed a mixed performance with the Nasdaq Composite gaining 0.5%, the S&P 500 rising 0.2%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticking up less than 0.1%. Amazon led the gains by crossing the $2 trillion market cap threshold for the first time, buoyed by news of its new discount shopping section to compete with Chinese rivals. Nvidia shares rebounded later in the day after CEO Jensen Huang highlighted the company's AI prospects at its shareholder meeting. FedEx surged 15.5% on strong quarterly results and strategic reviews, while Rivian soared following a $5 billion investment by Volkswagen. Conversely, General Mills disappointed with weak sales, dragging its shares down, along with AI-related stocks like Constellation Energy and Vistra. Moderna faced a decline after data suggested declining efficacy of its RSV vaccine over time l Investors will be looking out for the US Core PCE Price Index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, due this Friday at 20:30 SGT.

DeFi & CeFi

   •   U.S. government sends 3,940 Bitcoin to Coinbase exchange

   •   Justin Sun wins landmark case in the People’s Court of China

   •   Marathon Digital mines $16M in Kaspa to diversify from Bitcoin

   •   World’s largest bank ICBC praises the evolution of Bitcoin, Ethereum as innovative financial assets

   •   Chiliz facing lawsuit filed by former employee over $10 million unpaid tokens, wrongful termination

   •   Bitcoin Virtual Machine team rolls out ZK rollups service to scale Bitcoin

🌳 Yen Weakens to Near Its 38-Year Low; US Government Transfers BTC Seized From Drug Trafficking to Coinbase Prime

Macro & TradFi

The Japanese yen nearly reached its 38-year low (https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/27/yen-crosses-160-against-dollar.html)against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, touching 160.82 yen per dollar according to FactSet data. This surpassed the previous record set on April 29 and marked the yen's weakest point since 1986. The sharp depreciation has, again, raised speculation about potential intervention by Japanese authorities to stabilize the currency. Japan's Ministry of Finance confirmed previous intervention in May, disclosing a substantial expenditure of 9.7885 trillion yen ($62.25 billion) from late April to late May to support the yen. Analysts, including Carol Kong from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, suggest that upcoming U.S. economic data releases, such as the May personal consumption expenditures report, could trigger further yen weakness and potentially prompt Japanese intervention to mitigate currency volatility. Masato Kanda, Japan's top currency diplomat, expressed serious concern about the yen's rapid decline, attributing it largely to speculative activity and indicating readiness to take action if necessary. All eyes will be on the US Core PCE Price Index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, due this Friday at 20:30 SGT.

Elsewhere, BlackRock Inc (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-26/blackrock-muscles-into-private-assets-market-for-wealth-clients). is expanding its reach in private-market investing by partnering with GeoWealth to integrate private equity and debt funds into model portfolios for wealthy U.S. retail clients. This strategic move aims to meet growing investor demand for diversified and higher-yield assets, enhancing BlackRock's position as a comprehensive investment solutions provider. With the U.S. wealth market identified as a significant growth opportunity, BlackRock anticipates its model portfolio business to double in assets to approximately $10 trillion over the next five years, building on its existing $125 billion in managed model portfolios for U.S. clients.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks showed a mixed performance with the Nasdaq Composite gaining 0.5%, the S&P 500 rising 0.2%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticking up less than 0.1%. Amazon led the gains by crossing the $2 trillion market cap threshold for the first time, buoyed by news of its new discount shopping section to compete with Chinese rivals. Nvidia shares rebounded later in the day after CEO Jensen Huang highlighted the company's AI prospects at its shareholder meeting. FedEx surged 15.5% on strong quarterly results and strategic reviews, while Rivian soared following a $5 billion investment by Volkswagen. Conversely, General Mills disappointed with weak sales, dragging its shares down, along with AI-related stocks like Constellation Energy and Vistra. Moderna faced a decline after data suggested declining efficacy of its RSV vaccine over time l Investors will be looking out for the US Core PCE Price Index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, due this Friday at 20:30 SGT.

DeFi & CeFi

   •   U.S. government sends 3,940 Bitcoin to Coinbase exchange

   •   Justin Sun wins landmark case in the People’s Court of China

   •   Marathon Digital mines $16M in Kaspa to diversify from Bitcoin

   •   World’s largest bank ICBC praises the evolution of Bitcoin, Ethereum as innovative financial assets

   •   Chiliz facing lawsuit filed by former employee over $10 million unpaid tokens, wrongful termination

   •   Bitcoin Virtual Machine team rolls out ZK rollups service to scale Bitcoin