MARKET MOVERS
- Gensler labels bitcoin as a ‘commodity’ as crypto prices stabilize. He said tokens that the investing public is hoping for a return just like when they invest in other financial assets are what they call securities. Meanwhile, he said that bitcoin was the only cryptocurrency he was prepared to publicly label a commodity, rather than a security. Read more here.
- Three Arrows Capital just defaulted on a $670 million loan. Digital asset brokerage Voyager Digital issued a notice on Monday morning, stating that the fund failed to repay a loan of $350 million in the U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, USDC, and 15,250 bitcoin, worth about $323 million at today’s prices. Voyager said it intends to pursue recovery from 3AC (Three Arrows Capital).
- Gasoline prices fall below $4.90 a gallon as recession fears weigh. The national average for a gallon of gasoline is $4.897 as of June 27, according to AAA, up from $3.095 this time a year ago but down from the historic highs of over $5 a gallon seen earlier this month. The price slashes come as crude oil costs have continued to decline in recent weeks amid ongoing concerns that a global recession may be looming.
- Venture funding is set to hit its lowest level since 2020. Venture capital-backed startups raised far fewer rounds of funding during the past three months than they did during the past two years. Deal activity across the globe dropped 23% between the first quarter and second quarter of this year. An indication that the roiling of the crypto and public markets is affecting private companies. Read more here.
- Goldman says buy the pullback in oil and other commodities. The firm believes investors can remain bullish on commodities as long as demand levels are still above supply levels, which all the data suggests is still the case. In other words, even if the demand growth rate slows, demand is still rising while the supply side of the equation remains tight. Read more here.
- Pending home sales climb in May following 6 months of declines. It crept up 0.7% from April, according to new data from NAR. Economists were predicting that pending sales would drop 3.5% month over month. But the modest .7% increase shouldn't discount clear evidence of a transition spurred by high prices and mortgage rates, according to new data from the National Association of Realtors. Read more here.
WHAT TO WATCH
- Bidding wars are coming for renters. An increasing number of white-collar professionals—some of whom recently sold homes—are reluctant to buy because of record-high home prices, rising mortgage rates, and limited supply. They are renting instead, helping to drive a frenzy for leased properties of all kinds, and helping fuel the trend of offering above asking rents.
- Durable-goods orders climb again and signal demand in the economy is still strong. Orders at U.S. factories for long-lasting goods such as new cars or heavy machinery rose 0.7% in May, a stronger than expected reading that showed manufacturers still had plenty of demand for their products even amid signs the economy was slowing. Orders for new cars and trucks rose 0.5% in May and offset a 1.1% decline in commercial airplanes. Source.
- G7 to ban imports of Russian gold. Destabilizing the western gold financial markets could be a key part of Russia's strategy to weaken the US dollar. And now the G7 has banned gold imports from Russia. If people can't source their gold from Russia anymore, they may look to take delivery from the western fractional exchanges, putting pressure on the system and leading to a consistent rise in the price of gold. Read more here.
- The 3AC collapse might drag Grayscale into the mix. Given the massive size and scale of the collapse, there is a real chance Grayscale gets dragged into the mix and they are told to allow customers to redeem. Also, if 3AC is forced to market sell it means that they are selling at a 30% discount to BTC spot prices. This should not make 3AC investors happy. The big-time lawyers will be involved since the amount of money on the line is huge and is from wealthy individuals.
Read more here.
