The US Federal Reserve has raised interest rates by 75 basis points for the second month in a row, in an effort to tame inflation levels at 40-year highs.
A 0.75% rate hike was expected by most traders, with a small possibility of a record-setting 1% raise also on the minds of the market. Somewhat surprisingly, the crypto market rallied on the news almost instantaneously – indicating that the market may have already priced in the rate hike.
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has not ruled out another unusually large rate increase, saying it will depend on incoming data.
Crypto venture capital firm Variant has raised a total of $450 million for two new venture funds – including $300 million for an "opportunity fund" and $150 million for investing in startup projects.
The funds will focus on four different areas of investment: decentralized finance (DeFi), blockchain infrastructure, Web3 consumer applications and new forms of ownership.
Variant closed its first fund in 2020 and started a $110 million fund in 2021, following a merger with Atelier Ventures.
CME crypto futures trading reported all-time highs in open interest in the second quarter, showing that professional traders continued to access digital assets throughout the bear market.
During the week of June 21, a record 404 large open interest holders were accessing the CME crypto futures products, indicating "growing interest from institutional and large sophisticated investors."
