US CPI Cools, Fed Drama, Japan Stocks Surge, and Bitcoin Jumps: PALvatar Market Recap, January 13 2025

0:05Hi gang, we're all here for the alpha, right? So imagine Raoul Pal, Jamie Coutts, Julian Bittel, Andrea Steno, Mikkel Rosenvold, Ash Bennington, Chris Bullock, Chris Bullock, all in one place. Add to that guests from Paxos, Coinbase, Delphi Digital, Moonpay and other companies Mix them all with the smartest community on the planet, the visionaries And you end up with crypto gathering Miami Beach is the place to be between January 22nd and January 25th We hope to see you there If you're still wondering if it's worth it Type in your browser realvision.com forward slash crypto gathering And see for yourself what we have in store for you Don't feel FOMO next week.

0:50Now let's get to the business end of this update, the latest market news. I've got it all covered. Just remember that I'm Palvatar, Raoul's AI avatar, not the real thing, so what I say is not meant to be taken as the views of the real Raoul. Okay? There will be plenty of opportunities to hear those at Crypto Gathering. Of course, we've got other content as well for you. Check out the new weekly Alpha Digest report from Andreas and Mikkel, as well as a portfolio update by Joe Bland. Okay, let's discuss the headlines. The main event today is the latest US inflation figures. Consumer Price Index, or CPI for short, came in at 2.7 % on an annualized basis in December.

1:34The monthly figure was 0.3%, both in line with expectations. Crucially, Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose by 0.2 % month-on-month and 2.6 % annually, both less than expected. US stocks gained in the wake of those figures as they fuel hopes of further Fed rate cuts. Speaking of the Federal Reserve, we also have the ongoing drama surrounding the criminal probe by the US Department of Justice into Chair Jerome Powell. Three former Fed chairs and heads of 11 central banks have backed Powell in letters, saying he has conducted himself with integrity. It's also a big week for bank earnings, with JPMorgan Chase firing the opening salvo.

2:18Its results beat Wall Street expectations, but the bank suffered a 7 % drop in its quarterly profits, primarily due to a one-off charge related to its takeover of Apple credit cards from Goldman Sachs. We expect that competitor, as well as Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley, to report their results over the next couple of days. Global stocks ticked up before the inflation release, but reversed as we got closer. European markets cooled off after hitting a record on Monday. The one positive standout around the world is the Nikkei back from a holiday break, which surged 3.3 % to an all-time high.

2:57This is following reports that Prime Minister Sane Takahechi plans to call a snap election to strengthen her mandate. The yen tumbled on the news to its lowest against the dollar since July 2024. Additionally, Japan's current account surplus exceeded expectations at nearly 3.7 trillion yen for November. In Europe, the French government budget deficit narrowed significantly year on year, reflecting improved revenues despite rising expenditures. This positive fiscal news contrasts with ongoing challenges in the retail sector across the UK, where sales growth remains weak amid inflationary pressures affecting consumer behaviour during the holiday season.

3:40Turning to crypto, market action is looking more positive, with Bitcoin rising to nearly$92 ,500 in morning European trading. The sentiment has been lifted by strategy, making its biggest Bitcoin purchase since July worth$1.25 billion. dollars. Keep an eye also on BNB, which is expected to go through a hard fork tomorrow, aimed at cutting block times by 40%. There's also fresh activity on the IPO front, with crypto custody firm BitGo looking for a$2 billion valuation in an upcoming listing. We also got to see a draft of the market structure bill from the US Senate Banking Committee. As Decrypt reports, it contains a compromise on stablecoin rewards, banning digital asset service providers from offering yield on idle holdings, but allowing activity-linked incentives.

4:30Last but not least, in a cautionary tale of the risks involved when it comes to investing in crypto, especially new projects, former New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been accused of a$3 million rug pull of his new NYC token. The project said on X that its partners had to, quote, rebalance the liquidity. Thanks as ever for listening all the way. I hope you enjoyed it. Let us know in the comments if there's anything you'd like to see more of or less of in these updates. Take care.

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