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Top Binance Traders Cut XRP Longs Ahead of Powell's Speech
NFT Gaming

Top Binance Traders Cut XRP Longs Ahead of Powell’s Speech

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According to Binance data, top XRP accounts are holding fewer longs ahead of Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole appearance, trimming exposure before one of the biggest macro events of the summer.

On Aug. 20, long accounts made up 78.12% of top margin users, with shorts at 21.88%, giving a ratio of 3.57. As of Aug. 21, the number of longs dropped to 74.15%, while shorts increased to 25.85%, bringing the ratio down to 2.87.

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The change is even clearer on open positions: longs accounted for 65.98%, while shorts climbed to 34.02%, leaving the ratio at 1.94, the lowest level in weeks. It shows that while most of the big accounts are still on the long side, they are doing so with lighter weight.

Source: TradingView

The Jackson Hole symposium will be held from Aug. 21 to 23, and Powell’s speech is expected to carry heavy market impact. The FOMC minutes published this week put inflation as the main risk to the Fed’s mandate, and since those notes were written before last week’s hotter CPI and PPI data, there is more reason for Powell to avoid giving a dovish signal. 

What are options?

Markets are still pricing a pretty good chance — more than 80% — of a rate cut in September, but that could change if Powell does not support it. His focus on labor market weakness could boost risk assets, but if inflation dominates the message, it could drag them down. 

Finally, if he sticks to “data dependent” language, the reaction could stay relatively contained.

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For XRP, the setup comes after almost two weeks of price pressure, falling from above $3.15 to just under $2.90. Binance’s biggest accounts have already pulled back, and the coin is now waiting for Powell’s word to decide the next step.



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Crypto Trends

8 Reasons Why the Fed Might Not Want to Cut Rates in September

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Cryptocurrencies and related stocks extended losses Tuesday as traders braced for the release of the Fed’s FOMC minutes on Wednesday and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech on Friday.

Bitcoin dropped 3.2% in the past 24 hours to slip below $114,000, while ether fell 5.3% to under $4,200. XRP tumbled 6.2%, Cardano’s ADA slid 8% and the broader crypto market was down 3.2%.

Shares of crypto-related companies, such as bitcoin miners, crypto exchanges and digital asset treasury firms, suffered even bigger losses, with MARA, COIN and MSTR closing today’s regular session down 5.7%, 5.8% and 7.4%, respectively.

By contrast, in general, U.S. equities suffered less: the Dow ended flat, the S&P 500 fell 0.59%, and the Nasdaq slid about 1.5%. The disparity underscores how digital assets, which rely heavily on cheap liquidity, are more exposed to shifts in rate expectations than traditional stocks.

Investors now face a pivotal macro catalyst-heavy week.

On Aug. 20 at 2 p.m. ET, the Fed will release minutes from the FOMC meeting held July 29–30, offering insight into policymakers’ tariff and inflation debates. From Aug. 21–23, central bankers gather for the Jackson Hole symposium, with Powell’s keynote set for Aug. 22 at 10 a.m. ET. Together, the minutes and Powell’s speech could define market expectations for the September policy meeting.

Here are some top macro highlights traders will likely watch this week to gauge how the Fed will react during next month’s meeting.

Tariffs’ delayed bite

Many companies have absorbed tariff costs to protect market share, but analysts warn they cannot do so indefinitely. Once passed on to consumers, these costs could drive prices higher and force the Fed to wait before cutting.

Sticky inflation data

Despite some cooling, inflation gauges remain elevated. The producer price index, a key wholesale measure, has been hotter than forecast, suggesting persistent pressures that complicate any case for aggressive easing.

Corporate limits

U.S. executives have signaled they will eventually be forced to shift tariff costs downstream. If that happens, consumer inflation could accelerate in the coming months, making a September cut seem premature.

Mixed economic signals

The U.S. economy shows both slowing job growth and resilient consumer demand. This uneven picture could encourage Powell to argue for patience until the Fed has clearer evidence that growth can withstand tariff-driven costs.

Policy uncertainty

Tariffs intersect with fiscal and trade policies in unpredictable ways. That complexity increases the risk of missteps, making a hawkish tone at Jackson Hole more likely.

Lessons from history

The tariff shocks of 2018–2019 produced delayed but meaningful inflation, prompting Fed caution. Powell may draw on that precedent to justify holding back this time.

Forward-looking indicators

The upcoming release of fresh economic data, including Thursday’s release of preliminary August data on manufacturing and services activity, could show tariff-related cost pressures building. Powell could point to these as another reason for prudence.

Internal divisions

Minutes from the July FOMC meeting may reveal a split inside the Fed. With hawks focused on inflation and doves emphasizing jobs, Powell may stress the need for consensus, which often favors waiting.

For crypto, the stakes are clear. Higher-for-longer rates curb the liquidity that fuels speculative rallies, raising financing costs for miners and weighing on exchange activity. If Powell signals caution, the sell-off in tokens and crypto-linked equities could deepen. A dovish surprise, however, might offer the spark for a rebound.



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Bitcoin Will Win From Fed Rate Cut Delay Or Confirmation
Crypto Trends

Bitcoin Will Win From Fed Rate Cut Delay Or Confirmation

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Key takeaways:

  • President Donald Trump’s push for aggressive interest rate cuts could trigger a surge in inflation, weaken the dollar, and destabilize long-term bond markets.

  • Even without rate cuts, trade policy and fiscal expansion are likely to push prices higher.

  • Bitcoin stands to benefit either way—whether as an inflation hedge in a rapid-cut environment, or as a slow-burn store of value as US macro credibility quietly erodes.

The US economy may be growing on paper, but the underlying stress is increasingly difficult to ignore — a tension now in sharp focus at the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium. The US dollar is down over 10% since January, core PCE inflation is stuck at 2.8% and the July PPI surged 0.9%, tripling expectations.

Against this backdrop, 10-year Treasury yields holding at 4.33% look increasingly uneasy against a $37 trillion debt load. The question of interest rates has moved to the center of national economic debate.

President Donald Trump is now openly pressuring Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates by as much as 300 basis points, pushing them down to 1.25-1.5%. If the Fed complies, the economy will be flooded with cheap money, risk assets will surge, and inflation will accelerate. If the Fed resists, the effects of rising tariffs and the fiscal shock from Trump’s newly passed Big Beautiful Bill could still push inflation higher.

In either case, the US appears locked into an inflationary path. The only difference is the speed and violence of the adjustment, and what it would mean for Bitcoin price.

What if Trump forces the Fed to cut?

Should the Fed bow to political pressure starting as early as September or October, the consequences would likely unfold rapidly.

Core PCE inflation could climb from the current 2.8% to above 4% in 2026 (for context, post-COVID rate cuts and stimulus pushed core PCE to a peak of 5.3% in February 2022). A renewed inflation surge would likely drag the dollar down even further, possibly sending the DXY below 90.

US Core PCE index, 1-month. Source: TradingEconomics

Monetary easing would briefly lower Treasury yields to around 4%, but as inflation expectations rise and foreign buyers retreat, yields could surge beyond 5.5%. According to the Financial Times, many strategists warn that such a spike could break the bull market altogether.

Higher yields would have immediate fiscal consequences. Interest payments on US debt could rise from around $1.4 trillion to as much as $2 trillion—roughly 6% of GDP—by 2026, triggering a debt servicing crisis and putting further pressure on the dollar. 

More dangerous still is the potential politicization of the Fed. If Trump finds a way to force Powell out and appoint a more compliant chair, markets could lose faith in the independence of US monetary policy. As FT columnist Rana Foroohar wrote:

“There’s a huge body of research to show that when you undermine the rule of law the way the president is doing with these unwarranted threats to Powell, you ultimately raise, not lower, the cost of borrowing and curb investment into your economy.”

She cited Turkey as a cautionary tale, where a central bank purge led to market collapse and 35% inflation.

If the Fed holds steady

Maintaining policy rates may seem like the responsible option, and it would help preserve the Fed’s institutional credibility. But it won’t spare the economy from inflation.

Indeed, two forces are already pushing prices higher: the tariffs and the Big Beautiful Bill.

Tariff effects are already visible in key economic indicators. The S&P Global flash US Composite PMI rose to 54.6 in July, the highest since December, while input prices for services jumped from 59.7 to 61.4. Nearly two-thirds of manufacturers in the S&P Global survey attributed higher costs to tariffs. As Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global, said:

“The rise in selling prices for goods and services in July, which was one of the largest seen over the past three years, suggests that consumer price inflation will rise further above the Fed’s 2% target.” 

The effects of the Big Beautiful Bill are yet to be felt, but warnings are already mounting over its combination of increased spending and sweeping tax cuts. At the beginning of July, the IMF stated that the bill “runs counter to reducing federal debt over the medium term” and its deficit‑increasing measures risk destabilizing public finances.

In this scenario, even without immediate rate cuts, core PCE inflation may drift up to 3.0–3.2%. Yields on 10-year Treasurys would likely rise more gradually, reaching 4.7% by next summer. Debt servicing costs would still climb to an estimated $1.6 trillion, or 4.5% of GDP, elevated but not yet catastrophic. DXY could continue plummeting, with Morgan Stanley predicting that it could go as low as 91 by mid‑2026.

Market yield on US 10-year bonds. Source: St.Louis Fed

Even in this more measured outcome, the Fed doesn’t emerge unscathed. The debate over tariffs is dividing policymakers. For instance, Governor Chris Waller, seen as a possible new Fed Chair, supports rate cuts. Macquarie strategist Thierry Wizman recently warned that such splits within the FOMC could devolve into politically motivated blocs, weakening the Fed’s inflation-fighting resolve and eventually steepening the yield curve.

Related: Bitcoin won’t go below $100K ‘this cycle’ as $145K target remains: Analyst

The impact of macro on Bitcoin

In the first scenario—sharp cuts, high inflation, and a collapsing dollar—Bitcoin would likely surge immediately alongside stocks and gold. With real interest rates negative and Fed independence in question, crypto could become a preferred store of value.

In the second scenario, the rally would be slower. Bitcoin might trade sideways until the end of 2025, until inflation expectations catch up with reality next year. However, as the dollar continues to weaken and deficits accumulate, non-sovereign assets will gradually gain appeal. Bitcoin’s value proposition would solidify not as a tech bet, but as a hedge against systemic risk.

Expectations for a rate cut continue to rise, but whether or not the Fed complies in the fall or stands firm, the US is on a collision course with inflation. Trump’s aggressive fiscal stimulus and trade policy ensure that upward price pressure is already baked into the system. Whether the Fed cuts rates soon or not, the path ahead may be rough for the dollar and long-term debt, and Bitcoin isn’t just along for the ride—it may be the only vehicle built for this road.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.



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Solana price path to $200 stalls as transactions and addresses jump
Crypto Trends

Solana validators vote on Alpenglow proposal to cut finality

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Solana’s validator community has begun voting on SIMD-0326, the Alpenglow proposal, a upgrade designed to replace the current TowerBFT consensus mechanism with a faster, simpler, and more resilient system. 

Summary

  • Solana validators are voting on SIMD-0326, the Alpenglow upgrade.
  • Proposal cuts block finality from 12.8s to 100–150ms using off-chain voting.
  • Community split on the 1.6 SOL Validator Admission Ticket and testing risks.

If approved, Alpenglow proposal would reduce block finality from 12.8 seconds to as little as 100–150 milliseconds, putting Solana’s (SOL) performance closer to Web2 infrastructure.

How Alpenglow works

Developed by Anza, a Solana-focused research team, Alpenglow introduces direct voting, signature aggregation, and a Validator Admission Ticket fee to streamline participation and cut bandwidth costs. Validators will trade votes off-chain rather than on-chain, with cryptographic proof attesting to consensus. 

The system is built around Votor, a lightweight voting protocol that finalizes blocks in one or two rounds depending on validator support. Blocks can be certified in a single round with at least 80% approval or in a second round with a 60% threshold. This design reduces network load by eliminating gossip-heavy traffic and formalizes safety guarantees absent under TowerBFT.

The proposal also introduces a fixed 1.6 SOL VAT per epoch, burned to offset inflation while preserving economic barriers to participation. This fee replaces direct vote transaction costs, with supporters arguing it reduces validator expenses by around 20%. Critics, however, warn it may raise entry barriers for smaller operators.

Alpenglow further adopts a “20+20” resilience model, allowing the network to stay live even with 20% adversarial validators and another 20% unresponsive. Future improvements include replacing Solana’s Turbine data propagation system with Rotor, a more efficient protocol that will require separate governance approval.

Debate and governance process

Community sentiment around Alpenglow is split between optimism and caution. Its proponents emphasize how it can streamline validator operations, cut down on finality delays, and facilitate use cases like high-frequency trading and gaming that demand almost instantaneous confirmation. Validators such as Firedancer commended it for eliminating long-standing TowerBFT complications.

Testing, deployment risks, and economic effects are the main areas of concern. While some validators suggest tiered VAT models with stake size-based SOLs ranging from 0.5 to 5, others question how off-chain voting will manage Jito auction procedures without proof-of-history and transaction expirations.

Voting runs from epochs 833 to 842, with participation requiring a two-thirds majority of Yes over No votes and a quorum threshold of 33%, including abstentions. Results will determine whether Solana proceeds with one of its most ambitious consensus overhauls to date.



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Brec Bassinger as young Iris Campbell in Final Destination: Bloodlines
Esports

Why these 30 seconds should be cut from John Carpenter’s The Thing

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John Carpenter’s The Thing is very nearly a perfect movie, but the opening scene is wholly unnecessary, and reduces the impact of the horrors that follow.

Genre fans bemoan the proliferation of remakes in horror, and they’re probably right when it comes to updates of Psycho, Jacob’s Ladder, Child’s Play, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Though that approach did gives us Nic Cage shouting about the bees in his Wicker Man do-over, so it’s not all bad.

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There have also been some truly great genre remakes, from Philip Kaufman’s Invasion of the Bodysnatchers and David Cronenberg’s The Fly, to Gore Verbinski’s The Ring and James Watkins’ Speak No Evil.

But best of all is arguably John Carpenter’s re-imagining of The Thing From Another World, which he reduced to The Thing in 1982. While I love the result, I also hate the first two minutes, which rob the movie of mystery in its early scenes.

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How The Thing currently begins

Universal Pictures

The Thing kicks off with 90 seconds of credits, before we hear the rumbling of a spaceship, which then spins into view, careering through space. The craft quickly bursts into flames as it approaches earth, before that iconic title card busts through the screen, proclaiming this to be “The Thing.”

Carpenter’s memorably sparse electronic score then fires up, as the words “Antarctica, Winter 1982” set the scene, before darkness gives way to light, and we’re introduced to a snowy landscape.

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A helicopter flies into view, with a man hanging off the side, searching for something in the white expanse. Carpenter cuts to a sled dog speeding through the snow, and when the man pulls out a rifle, it becomes clear that the animal is being hunted.

He fires multiple times, but the canine evades him, and makes it to the United States Science Institute Station 4, while the gunman is killed before he can explain the bizarre chase.

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Why that spacecraft reveal is unforgivable

Universal Pictures

Trouble is, because of that opening scene, we suspect it has something to do with the spaceship. The incident inspires the Americans to investigate a nearby Norwegian base, where they find the charred corpse of what looks to be a deformed human. And once again we can be pretty sure this has something to do with whatever crash-landed on earth.

It’s the same when the dog seems to subsume other canines in his kennel – there’s got to be something extra-terrestrial going down, particularly as those 30 seconds alerted us to that fact.

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The American scientists soon suspect that whatever arrived inside the dog can imitate other lifeforms, and realize it is alien in origin when they find the buried spaceship.

This means viewers have been one step ahead of the characters for the entire first act. But excise those first 120 seconds – or, more specifically, the spacecraft’s introduction – and The Thing is a very different movie.

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Universal Pictures

Man chasing dog becomes more of a head-scratcher, as does that messed up corpse, and especially the canine body horror.

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Has nature turned on us? Is this some virus that’s wiping out humanity? Has man’s best friend somehow evolved into our worst enemy?

These are all questions the audience should be asking themselves until the discovery of that ship. But instead, we have to wait for the characters to catch up, robbing the film of both mystery and suspense.

So if you love The Thing as much as I do, next time you introduce it to a newbie, press play at the two minute mark – or scrub through those key seconds – and allow them to experience the very best version of Carpenter’s classic.

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For more scary stuff, here’s a guide to video game The Thing Remastered, and you can also check out our list of the best horror movies of all time.

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Bitcoin Hyper Presale Heats Up Ahead of Fed Rate Cut
GameFi Guides

Bitcoin Hyper Presale Ignites Ahead of Fed Rate Cut and $120K Bitcoin Rally

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Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

Bitcoin has been comfortably cruising in six-figure territory for a while now. And the next big milestone on everyone’s radar is $120K.

With fresh rate-cut rumors swirling around the Federal Reserve, the setup for a continued rally is starting to look eerily perfect.

Rate cuts have historically pumped risk assets, and Bitcoin loves nothing more than a dovish Fed. Add global trade tensions and war-related uncertainty into the mix, and the pressure on the Fed to act is growing.

But while Bitcoin steals the spotlight, the real hidden gem might be quietly building in the background.

Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) is a lightning-fast, Solana-compatible Layer-2 designed to scale $BTC – and it might just be the infrastructure play of this bull run.

A Bullish Setup, Thanks to the Fed

There’s a storm of macro news brewing – and surprisingly, it’s bullish for crypto.

The Federal Reserve, after months of playing hardball on inflation, may finally be loosening its grip. Recent comments from Fed officials and fresh rate-cut speculation for July have markets buzzing.

Source: Polymarket

The reason? A double-whammy of war tensions and trade tariffs could drag down global growth, forcing the Fed to pivot.

Historically, rate cuts weaken the dollar and light a fire under risk assets. And Bitcoin, being the king of risk-on trades, thrives on this kind of chaos.

According to analysts, $BTC could ride this wave all the way to $120K if the Fed blinks.

But what happens when Bitcoin actually starts running again?

What Is Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER)?

Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) is the Layer-2 solution that finally gives Bitcoin its long-overdue upgrade.
Built on the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM), it’s not a sidechain or half-measure – it’s a fully operational blockchain engineered to scale Bitcoin in a way that actually works.

For the first time, developers, degens, and builders can create lightning-fast, low-cost dApps directly on the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Think of it like this: Bitcoin is the vault. Bitcoin Hyper is the high-speed highway connected to it – one that unlocks sub-second transaction speeds and near-zero gas fees.

It’s the first real execution layer for Bitcoin, turning it from a passive store of value into an active financial playground. Now, Bitcoin can support payments, meme coins, NFTs, DAOs, and DeFi – all under one roof.

And it’s all cross-chain from day one. Apps and assets can move across Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana without friction. With SVM compatibility baked in, Bitcoin Hyper brings serious dev firepower and full compatibility with the Solana ecosystem.

With the Fed hinting at a rate cut, the timing couldn’t be better. If Bitcoin surges, the infrastructure around it, especially one this fast and meme-ready, could take off even faster.

Why $HYPER Buyers Could Win Big – But Only If They Move Now

At just $0.011975, Bitcoin Hyper is still in presale, but it’s not going unnoticed. This new crypto project has already raised over $1.4M, and that early-stage window is closing fast.

Analysts predict $HYPER could hit as high as $0.32 by the end of 2025. That’s a potential 2,570% increase from today’s presale price. Let’s do the math.

Say you buy $1K worth of $HYPER at the current price. You’d get roughly 83,5K tokens. Bitcoin Hyper plans to offer staking with competitive APYs. Let’s go with a modest estimate of 20% APY.

Stake those tokens for a year, and you’d earn an extra 16,7K tokens, bringing your total to 100,2K $HYPER.

At today’s price, that’s still $1,2K. But if the price hits $0.32 by the end of 2025? You’re sitting on $32K – all from a $1K investment and one year of staking.

And that’s not counting early access to token launches, staking pools, governance, and other utility perks presale buyers get.

This is how early plays turn into power positions. With $BTC momentum climbing, $HYPER could be one of the best altcoins to ride this wave.

The Bitcoin Boom Is Here – But the Real Opportunity Is Under the Hood

With the Fed pivot in sight and Bitcoin heating up, the next bull run isn’t a matter of if – it’s when. But when the market takes off, it’s not just $BTC that flies. It’s the infrastructure around it.

That’s where Bitcoin Hyper shines. It’s not trying to replace Bitcoin, it’s here to power the ecosystem with real speed, real apps, and real scalability. While others chase hype, $HYPER is laying the foundation.

And when the market stampede begins, the ones who build the rails get there first.

This article is for informational purposes and doesn’t constitute financial advice. Always do your own research (DYOR) before investing in crypto.

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.



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Bitcoin Holds Ground as Fed’s Waller Calls for July Rate Cut

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In brief

  • Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller argued that the Fed should cut rates in July before the labor market “tanks.”
  • The Fed held interest rates steady on Wednesday for a fourth consecutive month.
  • Fed Chair Powell noted that economic uncertainty, amid Trump’s trade war, remains elevated, but that the haze has “diminished.”

The price of Bitcoin was little changed on Friday as U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller argued that the U.S. central bank could start lowering interest rates as early as July.

Bitcoin was recently changing hands at $104,300, flat over the past day and down 0.6% since Israel and Iran began exchanging missile attacks a week ago, according to crypto data provider CoinGecko. Ethereum was flat over the past 24 hours to trade just around $2,500, while Solana ticked up slightly.

With inflation running cooler-than-expected in recent months, Waller argued that the central bank has a green light to begin lowering borrowing costs, despite U.S. Donald Trump’s tariffs, which economists fear could lead to slower economic growth and higher costs for consumers—and Middle East tensions that could fuel higher energy prices.

“I think we’re in the position that we could do this as early as July,” he said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box. “That would be my view, whether the committee would go along with it or not.”



Waller’s comments follow the Fed’s decision to hold rates steady on Wednesday for a fourth meeting in a row, adhering to a wait-and-see approach adopted under Trump’s term. During the conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted that economic uncertainty for the U.S. remains elevated, but has “diminished,” amid twists and turns in the president’s trade policy.

Most policymakers at the Fed are penciling in two quarter-percentage-point rate cuts this year, economic projections released on Wednesday showed. At the same time, a greater number of governors estimated that the central bank would deliver no rate cuts this year, as their median estimates pointed to slightly higher inflation and slower economic growth.

Waller said that the bank should start cutting rates soon “because we don’t want to wait until the job market tanks before we start cutting the policy rate.”

Many economists feel the Fed is in a tough place, where any action will negatively affect progress on its dual mandate: cut rates too soon and inflation could take off again, hold rates elevated for too long and that could hamstring its goal of facilitating full U.S. employment.

“The Fed is caught in a holding pattern due to tariff uncertainty and is waiting for more information,” Grayscale’s Head of Research Zach Pandl told Decrypt. “Taking a step back, the Fed’s projections still point to easing ahead, despite higher expected inflation later this year.”

Fed futures traders penciled in a 14% chance on Friday that the bank would cut rates in July, a decrease from 28% a month ago, according to CME FedWatch. The central bank has held its benchmark rate at a target range of 4.25% to 4.5% since December.

Bitcoin boomed as the Fed lowered interest rates by a full percentage point last year. Although the central bank’s easing came amid the reelection of America’s first “crypto president,” lower interest rates tend to benefit risk assets like stocks and crypto by freeing up liquidity.

The president himself has clashed with the Fed’s reluctance to ease borrowing costs amid his trade war, while also pursuing an immigration crackdown. Prior to the Fed’s decision on Wednesday, the president called Powell “stupid.”

Edited by James Rubin

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Fed May Cut Rates In July, How Will It Impact Bitcoin And Crypto
GameFi Guides

Fed May Cut Rates in July, How will it Impact Bitcoin and Crypto

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In a major move, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller just gave crypto investors a big reason to watch July closely. He said the Fed could lower interest rates as soon as next month, during the July 29–30 meeting.

In the recent interview, Waller said, “We could do this as early as July. I think we’ve got room to bring it down, and then we can kind of see what happens with inflation.” This statement has come after the Fed’s recent decision to keep rates steady between 4.25% and 4.50%, but with hints that two cuts might still come before the end of 2025.

Impact of Fed Rate Cut on Bitcoin and Crypto

The main thing is, when the interest rates drop, it becomes cheaper to borrow and easier to invest. So as a result, people are eager to invest their money flows into Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other risky assets. Higher interest rates often scare invertos wavy from crypto.

As Dan Raju, CEO of Tradier, put it, “High interest rates scare investors away from riskier investments like crypto, and the lowering of rates will be seen as a positive by the crypto investor community.”

In the past, crypto has shown how it became sensitive related to the Fed policy. In 2022, when the Federal Reserve raised rates aggressively from near 0% to 4.25–4.50% by year-end. As a result, Bitcoin and altcoin dropped sharply.

In 2023 and 2024, the Fed paused rate hikes, keeping them steady in the 4.25–4.50% range. This stability gave crypto room to recover. Bitcoin rebounded, and investor confidence began returning. There are two more factors which have fueled the crypto to recover: the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs and the election of Donald Trump, seen as a crypto-friendly president.

Key Events to Watch in July

The crypto investors should watch the next big meeting of the Federal Reserve for July, as this can have a big impact for the crypto. If the Fed decides to cut interest rates, it could act as a powerful catalyst for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the broader crypto market.

Additionally, the U.S. Bitcoin ETFs have pulled in more than $9 billion, led by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT)  in the last few weeks. On May 22 alone, Bitcoin ETFs saw an impressive $432 million inflow. With Bitcoin ETFs still attracting strong inflows, a rate cut could help BTC test or even break past its all-time high of $111,970. 

However, if the Fed keeps rates steady, crypto markets may stall or correct, especially if inflation remains sticky or if economic uncertainty grows.

Also Read: Trump Urges Fed Must Cut Rates After Cooling Inflation Data



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GOG one-clicking modding announcement image, showing Bloodlines, Doom 3, Fallout London, and Heroes of Might and Magic 3.
Product Reviews

GOG says it won’t repeat its ill-fated Daggerfall GOG Cut with its new one-click modding program, not least because it can send more than one message a day to modders now

by admin



Remember the Daggerfall Unity GOG Cut? Odds are you don’t. It was, in essence, a pre-modded version of The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall, in the excellent fan-made Daggerfall Unity engine reimplementation. The idea was that if you wanted to play Daggerfall but didn’t want to go through the rigamarole of modding it into modernity, you could just download the GOG Cut and be on your way.

But there were issues. It quickly became outdated as the mods it included got new updates that GOG didn’t wrap into the GOG Cut, and even if it had kept everything on its latest version, some of the included mods just didn’t quite mesh. It wasn’t the best way to play Daggerfall in the 2020s, and ended up delisted from GOG’s storefront earlier this year after languishing there since 2022.

But GOG is taking another crack at modding with its one-click mods program, which will let you install stuff like Skyblivion, HoMM 3: Horn of the Abyss, and other meaty mod projects much like you install any other game on the platform. As it begins to flex its fan-content muscles, it says its learnt a lot from the DF GOG Cut experience.


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“In this case, usually, for the mods it will be on them [to keep mods up-to-date],” says GOG’s Rudy de Marco. “They will have more access than previously, because at the end of the day it will be easier for everyone to trust them to actually update their stuff whenever they want, right? So that’s how we plan to go.”

(Image credit: Bethesda Softworks)

So, presuming mod authors keep on top of their updates, we shouldn’t run into yet another scenario where mods on GOG end up woefully outdated compared to their counterparts on sites like Nexus Mods. It’s not a free-for-all, though: GOG of course has to approve which mods it hosts on its service, and de Marco tells me that the store does “give heads up” to studios whose games are being modded on the platform. “It’s for us, but for the mod creators as well, right? There are stories in the past where mods could have been shut down completely for a specific franchise, and it’s not something where we want to put anyone at risk… We are kind of a middleman to make sure that everything’s okay.”

I get the impression that GOG’s come quite a way from the first days of the DF GOG Cut. Which, you know, you’d certainly hope is the case. In our chat, de Marco told me that assembling the DF GOG Cut was so ramshackle that “Our main person in charge of [the GOG Cut] did not have a premium account on Nexus, so he could send one message a day to people that weren’t his friend.” Kind of made securing all the necessary permissions for mod authors a bit hard.

I’m interested to see where GOG goes with modding. The whole scene has hit interesting times in the wake of the departure of the 24-year head of Nexus Mods, with some users fearing the site’s new owners might put the stalwart platform on a path to enshittification. Perhaps we’re due a shake-up in the mod-hosting scene. Perhaps GOG is well-placed to take advantage of it. It probably has a premium account by this point.



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Alien Ant Farm Is Bummed Its Song Was Cut From THPS 3+4
Game Reviews

Alien Ant Farm Is Bummed Its Song Was Cut From THPS 3+4

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Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 will include some of the original songs found in the original PS2-era skating games. But not everything is making the leap to the remaster, including one Alien Ant Farm song, a move the band understands, but still called a “bummer” in a recent interview.

THPS 3+4 Does Away With The OG 4’s Career Mode, Here’s Why

Speaking to the BBC, as spotted by VGC, earlier this week, Alien Ant Farm band members Terry Corso (guitarist) and Dryden Mitchell (lead singer) were asked about a post on the group’s official Instagram account. The band’s official account replied with a single sad emoji face to the news of THPS 3+4‘s soundtrack reveal and confirmation that “Wish” won’t be included. The song was included on THPS 3‘s original soundtrack.

“Is it a bummer that we weren’t invited, or that they didn’t include us? Absolutely,” Corso told the BBC. “We understand that they’re trying to bring some new stuff onto these releases, and if you’ve gotta make cuts, you’ve gotta make cuts. I don’t know why it had to be us, I feel like our song was really good on there, and it did really well.”

“I kind of get it,” said Mitchell, “That skating feels a little bit more like the punk side and we’re not a punk band, but I think that’s what makes a cool soundtrack, is a collection, being different.”

If the band wants to blame anyone, they can directly blame Tony Hawk himself. In March, the skateboard legend and star of the franchise explained that he was the one who made the call on removing some classic songs from the upcoming remaster in order to replace them with new tracks.

“It was my choice to pick some different songs by the same artists featured in THPS3+4. I’m hoping that discovery is half the fun, and a big reason that these soundtracks resonated in the first place. So listen and enjoy the ride.”

There is, as far as we know, not a single Alien Ant Farm song in THPS 3+4. So either Activision and Tony Hawk included something like “Movies” in the upcoming remake, or he just doesn’t like Alien Ant Farm very much, and they were totally cut from the game.

Well, whatever, Mr. Hawk, you can’t stop me from including some Alien Ant Farm in this very post! Take that, buddy! Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 is set to launch on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, Switch 2, and PC on July 11, 2025.

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