The Fed's meeting is drawing near, and the agency's personnel structure continues to see updates and changes. Meanwhile, the SEC is providing new updates on its next steps with crypto.

Market Overview

US equities closed with gains across all three indices on Tuesday (September 15th), with the Nasdaq leading the way with a 0.94% increase, and the S&P 500 setting a new all-time high. Stock futures saw a minor correction. Oil prices rose slightly to $63.3 per barrel. Gold held at $3722 per ounce.

The market was buzzing with news of Tesla's stock surging nearly 7% after Elon Musk spent $1 billion to buy an additional 2.57 million shares—his largest internal purchase in five years. Simultaneously, Alphabet (Google) surpassed the $3 trillion market capitalization mark, becoming the fourth company in the world to join the "trillion-dollar club," following a court ruling in its antitrust case that it would not have to sell its Chrome browser.

Bitcoin held steady around the $115,000 level. Most major altcoins traded sideways or saw minor corrections. The overall crypto market capitalization stood at $4.1 trillion.

US BTC spot ETFs saw inflows of $259.9 million, with the majority coming from BlackRock's IBIT. ETH spot ETFs also attracted significant inflows of $359.7 million.

There is new news regarding crypto ETFs. REX-Osprey is preparing to launch the first US XRP spot ETF this week. The fund will directly hold XRP along with cash, Treasury bonds, and derivatives. This will be the first product to allow US investors direct access to XRP. The ETF operates under the 1940 Investment Company Act, which is different from the trust-based spot ETFs under the 1933 Act, such as BlackRock's. This is a significant development for the XRP community and its path to mainstream adoption.

The Fed's Upcoming Meeting and Personnel Changes

This week, the market's focus is on the Fed's monetary policy meeting, which is taking place amid new developments regarding the agency's personnel. President Trump had previously tried to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook on charges of mortgage fraud, but the Appeals Court ruled that he did not have the authority to dismiss her before the meeting. This means Lisa Cook will continue to participate in the vote, making her one of the seven governors who will decide on interest rate policy in this week's meeting.

Concurrently, the US Senate has approved Stephen Miran, a Trump nominee, to join the Board of Governors, bringing the number of Trump-appointed members to three out of seven. Miran will retain his position at the White House Council of Economic Advisers but will take an unpaid leave of absence to serve on the Fed Board of Governors. However, observers believe this will not significantly alter the policy outlook, as the Fed typically maintains a high degree of consensus on key decisions.

Furthermore, the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) estimates that President Trump's tariffs, while raising inflation, will also reduce the US budget deficit by approximately $4 trillion over the next 10 years. However, the Supreme Court will review the legality of this policy in November, creating short-term economic instability. The CBO forecasts that this instability will gradually subside, and investment will return to normal by 2027.

The market is now almost certain that the Fed will lower interest rates by 0.25% at this meeting, with over 95% probability according to the CME FedWatch Tool. A small number of people are hoping for a 0.5% cut, but this is less likely as it could send a negative signal about the health of the economy. Goldman Sachs forecasts that the Fed will make three interest rate cuts between now and the end of the year, each by 0.25%, and will cut two more times in 2026, bringing the interest rate to a range of 3–3.25%.

President Trump continues to pressure the Fed for a sharp reduction in interest rates, but it is highly likely that the Fed will only lower rates by 0.25%. With the market already having priced this expectation into asset values, what investors are now waiting for is the message from Chairman Powell after the meeting: will the Fed commit to a prolonged easing cycle into next year? This will be the factor that determines the short-term trend, while the market could see strong volatility in the first 24 hours after the decision, especially in stocks and crypto.

Pro-Crypto Legislation Gains Traction in the US

Michael Saylor, Marathon CEO Fred Thiel, and many other leaders in the crypto industry attended a roundtable on Capitol Hill, hosted by Senator Cynthia Lummis and Representative Nick Begich, to promote the BITCOIN Act. This bill would designate Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset and calls for the US to acquire one million Bitcoin within five years through budget-neutral strategies. The bill is based on President Trump's executive order, which established permanent US Bitcoin holdings, similar to the national gold reserve, and prohibits the sale of Bitcoin seized in criminal or civil cases.

The proposal is currently under review by the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee, but no hearing schedule has been set yet. The bill has only received support from the Republican side, and the roundtable focused on next steps and how to attract more bipartisan support. Other attendees, including leaders from Bitdeer, Riot, Cleanspark, and Digital Power Network, emphasized that this plan is a "bipartisan opportunity."

In addition, the new SEC Chairman is taking positive steps toward the crypto market. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated that the agency will provide a preliminary notice of technical violations before taking enforcement actions against crypto businesses. This marks a shift from the "enforcement-first" approach under former Chairman Gary Gensler and the Biden administration. Atkins criticized previous actions as "not based on precedent" and said the SEC should allow a maximum of six months before initiating enforcement. He rejected Gensler's view that most cryptocurrencies are securities and said he supports the trading of tokenized stocks and bonds with the same legal rights as the original assets.

Furthermore, an organization is raising capital to support the crypto market. Fellowship PAC has raised over $100 million to support politicians who promote the US as a leader in crypto and new technologies. The organization is committed to transparency, supporting the entire crypto community, and aligning with President Trump's goal of making the US a global hub. The main goals are to build a clear legal framework, retain talent domestically, foster fair innovation, and strengthen US economic power.

Other Key Crypto & Market Updates

The US and China have reached a "framework agreement" on TikTok as part of their trade negotiations, which could transfer control of TikTok's US operations to an American entity. President Trump said he would speak directly with President Xi Jinping on Friday to finalize the deal. ByteDance faces a September 17th deadline to divest TikTok US, with potential investors including Oracle, Elon Musk, Perplexity, and Project Liberty.

President Trump has proposed ending quarterly earnings reports, replacing them with semi-annual reports to reduce costs and focus on management, but this requires SEC approval. He first proposed this idea during his initial term, and it is also supported by Buffett and Diamond, although many believe quarterly reports ensure transparency for investors. The US currently requires quarterly reporting, while Hong Kong, the UK, and the EU only require semi-annual reports.

Polkadot has passed Referendum 1710 with 81% approval, deciding to cap the total supply of DOT at 2.1 billion instead of the previous unlimited issuance of 120 million DOT per year. The new mechanism reduces issuance on a two-year cycle, increasing scarcity and long-term value stability. The total supply is expected to reach about 1.91 billion DOT by 2040, much lower than the 3.4 billion under the old model. The price of DOT did not change much after this news.

The supply of stablecoins on Ethereum has reached a record $167 billion, reinforcing its role as the payment backbone of the DeFi ecosystem. This is up from $149 billion last month. USDT remains dominant with a supply of $87.8 billion on Ethereum, followed by USDC with $48 billion.

Tom Lee's Bitmine Immersion Technologies has purchased an additional 82,233 ETH (approximately $372 million). The company now holds 2.15 million ETH (about $10 billion).

Elon Musk just bought 2.57 million Tesla shares worth about $1 billion, his largest internal purchase by value since February 2020. Following this news, Tesla's stock rose by over 5%.

PayPal launched a new feature called PayPal Links, which allows US users to send and receive Bitcoin, Ether, and the PYUSD stablecoin via PayPal, Venmo, and other crypto wallets. Personal transactions like gifts or paying friends will not be subject to tax reporting. This is a step in the PayPal World strategy, which aims to connect many digital wallets and global payment systems.

The Base network (Ethereum Layer 2) is considering launching its own token.

Strategy purchased an additional 525 BTC (approximately $60.2 million) at a price of $114,562. They now hold 638,985 BTC, with a current value of about $73 billion and an average purchase price of $73,913.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) launched a blockchain platform called Digital Markets Infrastructure (DMI) on Microsoft Azure, initially for managing private funds from issuance and tokenization to settlement. DMI will expand to other asset classes as the RWA market is forecasted to reach $30 trillion by 2034. The system is designed to be chain-agnostic and interoperable with different DLTs, though the specific blockchain has not been announced.

The Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (PVARA) has invited international crypto companies licensed in the US or EU to apply for operating licenses to serve its 40 million domestic users. Pakistan is showing increasing interest in crypto, and had appointed Changpeng Zhao (Binance) as an advisor earlier this year.

Sources

• Bloomberg
• CoinDesk
• U.S. Treasury
• TradingView
• Reuters
• SEC
• White House Press Office
• The New York Times
• Polkadot Official Blog
• Tether Transparency Report
• Ethereum Foundation
• Bitmine Immersion Technologies Investor Relations
• PayPal Official Announcements
• LSE Official Announcements
• Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority

Disclaimer

This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Please do your own research before making investment decisions.