This week, the financial and crypto markets witnessed numerous important developments, from US stocks closing in the green and fluctuating oil and gold prices, to new advancements in blockchain, stablecoins, and tokenization.

Market Overview

US equities closed with gains across all three indices on Monday (September 8th, US), with the Nasdaq rising the most at 0.45%. Stock futures also saw a slight increase. Oil prices rose but remained at a low level of $62.4 per barrel. Gold continued to hold at a high of $3679 per ounce.

Bitcoin is trading around the $111,000 to $112,000 range. Most major altcoins saw slight gains or traded sideways, while many smaller altcoins saw significant increases. The overall crypto market capitalization briefly rose to $4 trillion.

US BTC spot ETFs saw inflows return on Monday, with a total of $364.3 million. ETH spot ETFs, however, experienced outflows of $96.7 million. The SOL ETF's net flow was zero.

Supreme Court Temporarily Rules for Trump, Granting Power to Fire FTC Commissioner

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, has sided with President Trump and ordered Democratic Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter to cease her duties after a lower court had allowed her to return to her position following her dismissal by Trump. President Trump argues that he has broad authority to fire FTC commissioners. He contends that the agency now holds more executive power, making his decision a logical one. He had dismissed Rebecca Slaughter along with another Democratic Commissioner, Alvaro Bedoya, stating they no longer aligned with his agenda.

Lower courts had previously ruled that this dismissal was illegal, as commissioners of independent agencies are protected by law and cannot be removed without "just cause" according to the 1935 Humphrey’s Executor ruling. However, the Supreme Court has temporarily reversed this ruling, siding with President Trump. The Supreme Court has not yet made a final decision, but Chief Justice Roberts has required Slaughter's legal team to respond by September 15th. This case could have significant implications, as President Trump is testing the limits of his power by attempting to fire officials from independent government agencies like the FTC and Fed Governor Lisa Cook. These positions were previously protected from politically motivated dismissals, but President Trump's actions are directly challenging this long-standing norm.

With President Trump's dismissal of Fed Governor Lisa Cook, her voting power in upcoming meetings is now in question. If successful, he would control up to 4 of the 7 seats on the Fed Board, which could alter the balance of power in future interest rate decisions.

China's Export Slows Amid Trade Tensions

Exports from China increased by 4.4% year-over-year, which was lower than the 5% forecast and the weakest growth since February. This slowdown follows a previous period when businesses rushed to export before new US tariffs took effect. Imports into China only grew by 1.3%, lower than the 3% forecast. Domestic demand remains weak due to a real estate market downturn and concerns about unemployment.

On the US side, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is confident that Trump's tariff plan will prevail at the Supreme Court, but he warned that if they lose, the US government would have to refund a massive amount of tariff revenue. The Director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, stated that even if the Supreme Court agrees with the appeals court, the administration has other legal tools to maintain tariffs. The market desires clarity on the tariffs. However, the current uncertainty is making the market anxious. The Fed also needs to see the impact of the tariffs, as it's a factor they consider when making interest rate decisions.

The US Uses Stablecoins to Bolster the Dollar

A recent viral video featuring Anton Kobakov, a special advisor to Russian President Putin, suggests that the US is seeking to change the "rules of the game" in the gold and crypto markets to deal with its $35 trillion national debt burden. He compares the current situation to the 1930s and 1970s, when the US sought to shift its debt burden to the rest of the world. According to his argument, Washington will leverage crypto and stablecoins as tools to reduce debt pressure, maintain the ability to print money, and weaken the real value of the USD.

This perspective is reinforced by the fact that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bohn once publicly stated that he sees the potential for stablecoins to become a major buyer of US government bonds. Stablecoin issuers, when they issue tokens, must hold collateral and often purchase Treasury bonds. Currently, one major stablecoin company is among the top 20 government bond investors, on par with some nations like South Korea. This is precisely why the US government is not banning crypto but is instead supporting the development of stablecoins. President Donald Trump even affirmed he would use crypto to address US national debt.

In the broader picture, crypto investors often view this as a positive opportunity: if stablecoins become a key buyer of bonds, the market capitalization of stablecoins must increase significantly, which would, in turn, drive up the market capitalization of the entire crypto market. In fact, data for 2025 shows that stablecoin transactions are soaring, particularly in small transactions under $250, with August alone reaching $5.84 billion—surpassing the total volume of all of 2024. Users in emerging markets prefer stablecoins to avoid high bank fees and slow transfer times.

Stablecoins are gradually becoming an alternative payment method to Visa/Mastercard, thanks to low costs and instant processing speeds, while traditional card systems often take days or weeks to settle. Blockchain networks like BSC account for nearly 40% of small retail transactions, Ethereum (including Layer 2s) over 30%, while Tron's share has decreased. This trend is forcing both Visa and Mastercard to integrate stablecoins to maintain their market share, accepting lower fees rather than being sidelined and replaced. This is a turning point where stablecoins are not just a tool for speculation but are entering daily payment life.

Other Key Crypto & Market Updates

A rumor that Tether is selling Bitcoin is false. In reality, the company simply transferred 19,800 BTC to Jack Mallers' Twenty One Capital fund to develop financial services. After the transaction, Tether continued to increase its holdings and now owns over 100,521 BTC (approximately $11.17 billion). CEO Paolo Ardoino affirmed that Tether will continue to use profits to invest in Bitcoin, gold, and real estate as safe assets.

The SEC Crypto Task Force recently met with many industry companies to discuss the relationship between crypto and AI. It is becoming increasingly clear that AI agents may struggle to rely on traditional banking due to limited APIs, whereas crypto allows for fast, direct transactions with only a wallet and a private key. This reinforces the view that AI will need a native internet currency, which is closely tied to crypto. Furthermore, Nasdaq has requested permission to tokenize stocks, showing the accelerating pace of digitalization.

H100 Group has raised 10 million SEK ($1.07 million) to purchase additional Bitcoin. H100 Group is a Swedish medical technology company.

Paradam, an Ethereum-focused entity, has partnered with Stripe to develop a stablecoin payment network but has chosen to build a new Layer 1 called Temple instead of on Ethereum or a Layer 2. The reason they gave is that Layer 2s depend on a single sequencer, transactions are not final, and they still have to wait for confirmation from Ethereum, while Ethereum's upgrade speed is too slow. Temple is designed to be independent, with multiple validators, fast finality, and flexible fees, making it more suitable for global payments.

Sources

• The New York Times
• Fox Business
• Bloomberg
• Statista
• TradingView
• Reuters
• SEC
• The Supreme Court
• CME FedWatch Tool
• Tether Transparency Report
• Nasdaq Official Filings
• H100 Group Investor Relations
• Paradam Official Announcements
• The Wall Street Journal

Disclaimer

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