As tensions flare between Iran and Israel, investors are watching oil, gold, and, of course, crypto. In this episode of Bits + Bips, the panel digs into the market response to war risk, the chances the Fed will actually cut rates, and how Circle’s IPO is being treated more like a meme stock than a fintech play.
Plus:
Why Scaramucci says we’re all living in a surveillance state
Whether stablecoins are being kneecapped by U.S. regulation
When altcoin ETFs are coming
And what BlackRock’s Larry Fink secretly told Scaramucci about Bitcoin in 2021
Sponsor:
Bitwise
James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence
Alex Kruger, Founder of Asgard
Noelle Acheson, Author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” Newsletter
Anthony Scaramucci, Founder of SkyBridge
US-Iran-Israel war
Unchained: Bitcoin Dips Below $100K as U.S.–Iran Tensions Trigger $627M in Liquidations
Polymarket: Will Iran close the Strait of Hormuz before July?
WSJ: What Israel’s Soaring Markets Are Saying About the Iran War
Macro
WSJ: Fed’s Bowman Says She Could Support a July Interest-Rate Cut
CNBC: Fed Governor Waller says central bank could cut rates as early as July
FT: Jay Powell to push back on calls for Federal Reserve rate cuts as soon as July
Stablecoins
WSJ: Stablecoin World Opens Up to Main Street Banks
The Block: Circle's post-IPO stock surge pushes market cap near Coinbase and USDC
ETFs
James upped the odds on a bunch of altcoin spot ETFs
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
2:51 Are there lessons in how the markets shrugged off the Iran-Israel conflict?
9:37 What flashpoints in the Middle East could ignite next
️ 14:40 Will oil supplies remain safe?
22:13 Are cracks finally forming in the Fed’s resistance to rate cuts?
28:08 Why Anthony believes that Fed Chair Powell is playing politics with rates