Bitcoin Holds $76K as Equities Rally After Fed Delivers Rate Hike

The SEC has rolled out its long-awaited “innovation exemption,” providing blockchain-based trading venues with a framework for offering tokenized securities.

JPMorgan Has No Clear Middle East Scenario

JPMorgan’s commodities analysts said Thursday they no longer have a dependable baseline for assessing the Middle East conflict.

“For the first time since the start of the Iran conflict, we don’t have a baseline view,” the team wrote, adding that it cannot determine how the conflict is likely to end or how to model the possible outcomes.

The comments have spread across financial discussions on X as the conflict has become increasingly complicated, involving several countries and groups with no obvious route to a quick resolution.

WTI crude was modestly lower but remained above $100 per barrel. U.S. diesel prices meanwhile reached a new record of $6.29 per gallon on Thursday.

Julian Assange Returns

Julian Assange announced his return to X with the message, “I’m back.” WikiLeaks had posted a similar message shortly before, along with a photo of the whistleblower.

The term “de-banking” has gained popularity in recent years, but WikiLeaks was an early example. In 2010, Visa, MasterCard and PayPal stopped processing payments for the organization following pressure from the U.S. government.

Assange initially declined to use Bitcoin to raise funds for WikiLeaks after Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto asked him not to use the new cryptocurrency, amid concerns that authorities could potentially shut down the network.

His family later used Bitcoin to raise money for his legal expenses.

SEC Exemption Sends Crypto Stocks Higher

Crypto-related stocks that had suffered major losses after the CLARITY Act failed to advance in the Senate earlier this week rebounded in premarket trading following the SEC announcement.

Coinbase (COIN), Circle (CRCL), Bullish (BLSH), Robinhood (HOOD) and Securitize (SECZ) were among the stocks trading higher.

The SEC’s “innovation exemption” gives blockchain-based venues new guidance on how to list and trade tokenized securities.

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said the move could accelerate tokenization in the U.S., highlighting potential benefits such as instant settlement, 24/7 trading and default fractional ownership.

CleanSpark Gains on $2.227B Debt Offering

CleanSpark (CLSK) rose 5% after proposing a $2.227 billion debt offering maturing in 2031.

The company plans to direct the proceeds toward completing its Sandersville data center, reimbursing funds already spent on the project and setting aside money for debt payments.

CoreWeave (CRWV) fell 2% after announcing a $3 billion convertible debt offering due in 2033, with the size potentially increasing to $3.5 billion.

Most of the proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes. CoreWeave has not assigned the money to a specific project, while some of the proceeds will fund options intended to reduce shareholder dilution if the debt converts into equity.

U.S. Labor Market Remains Firm

Initial jobless claims fell to 196,000 last week, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 206,000 a week earlier.

The result was well below the 208,000 forecast. The four-week average also declined to 203,250 from 206,000.

The housing market continued to weaken, however. Housing starts dropped 2.6% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.275 million, compared with 1.309 million in July and the 1.31 million expected.

Oil Drops on China-Iran Developments

WTI crude fell below $100 per barrel for the first time in roughly a week following a Reuters report that China had asked Iran to help rein in Yemen’s Houthis.

The request reportedly followed an appeal from Saudi Arabia after military advances by the Houthis.

WTI fell 3% to $99.40. Lower oil prices helped Treasury yields retreat, with the 10-year yield down 5.4 basis points at 4.95%.

Bitcoin rose 1.15% to $76,900, while Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 1.5%.

Stocks Rise Despite Fed Hike

U.S. stock futures pointed to a stronger opening after the Federal Reserve raised rates.

Nasdaq 100 futures were up 1.1%, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.9% each less than two hours before the New York open.

With the Fed decision behind them, investors appeared to be returning to risk assets, while another rate increase is widely expected in October, December or both.

The 10-year Treasury yield declined 3 basis points to 4.975%, and the two-year yield slipped 1.4 basis points to 4.71%.

WTI also moved lower to $100.76 after reaching $107 earlier in the week.

Bitcoin remained around $76,100, close to its pre-Fed level.

Bank of England Holds at 3.75%

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted 6-3 to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.75%.

Officials warned that the Middle East conflict and higher oil prices could add to inflationary pressure in the first quarter of 2027.

Brent crude remained above $103 per barrel.

Zcash Surges as Crypto Liquidations Hit $345M

Zcash gained more than 17% to nearly $1,358 during Asian morning trading Thursday, according to CoinDesk.

Solana and Hyperliquid each climbed about 3%, while BNB, Dogecoin and Ether added roughly 2%. Bitcoin rose 1% to slightly above $76,400, XRP gained around 1%, and Tron was flat.

The Federal Reserve raised its target range by 25 basis points to 3.75%-4.00% on Wednesday, marking the first rate hike of the cycle. Markets had assigned roughly a 69% probability to the increase before the decision.

Bitcoin barely reacted to the announcement. FxPro chief market analyst Alex Kuptsikevich said Bitcoin had already experienced a sharp negative reaction to the CLARITY Act’s Senate failure, reducing its exposure to further dollar strength.

CoinGlass reported that 86,816 traders were liquidated over the previous 24 hours, with total liquidations reaching $345 million.

Shorts accounted for $208 million, compared with $137 million in long liquidations. Traders betting on lower prices therefore took the larger share of the losses.

Ether recorded nearly $89 million in liquidations, Bitcoin $85 million and Zcash $56 million. The largest individual liquidation was an $18 million Bitcoin position closed on Hyperliquid.

Zcash’s $56 million in liquidations came against a market capitalization of about $23 billion. Traders will be monitoring whether leverage rebuilds through Thursday, as leveraged positioning has contributed to the token’s recent rallies.