Nasdaq's Crypto Push and a Labor Market Shocker

Description: This week, we're analyzing a market that's showing a clear divergence. Bitcoin is seeing strong inflows of over $620 million, while Ethereum is experiencing significant outflows of $880 million. Price action reflects this, with Bitcoin holding a tight range, Ethereum trading flat, and Solana outperforming with a 9% gain. We'll look at what healthy perp funding rates tell us about market sentiment.

The dominant theme is the shifting macro landscape. We received a major reality check on the U.S. labor market with large downward revisions to annual payroll data. This, combined with last week's weak JOLTs data, is increasing the odds of a larger Fed rate cut ahead of next week's FOMC meeting. All of this sets the stage for a critical CPI report on Thursday. We'll also touch on the latest OPEC+ announcements.

This comes as traditional finance makes huge moves into the space. Nasdaq is investing $50 million in the Gemini crypto exchange and has also filed with the SEC to trade tokenized securities alongside traditional stocks. We'll also cover Ant Digital's plan to tokenize $8 billion in assets and the latest onchain news from MegaETH and Ethena.

Topics Covered:

• Market Update:
  • Diverging ETF Flows: BTC inflows ($620m) vs. ETH outflows (-$880m).
  • Price Action: BTC range-bound, ETH flat, and SOL outperforming (+9%).
  • Market Sentiment: Healthy perp funding rates and a rising COIN50 index.
• Macro Deep Dive:
  • Labor Market Shocker: The 911k downward revision to benchmark payrolls.
  • Fed Outlook: Increased odds of a rate cut ahead of the FOMC meeting.
  • Key Data: What to expect from Thursday's CPI report.
  • Fiscal & Geopolitics:  OPEC+ news.
• Regulatory & Adoption Breakthroughs:
  • Nasdaq invests $50 million in Gemini.
  • Nasdaq seeks SEC approval to trade tokenized securities.
  • Ant Digital plans to tokenize $8 billion in assets.
• Onchain & Ecosystem News:
  • MegaETH launches a native stablecoin with Ethena to subsidize fees.
• Coinbase News & Product Launches:
  • Coming September 22: Mag7 + Crypto Equity Index Futures
• CB Research
  • Coinbase Research

Speakers:
Ben Floyd, Head of Execution Services
David Duong, Global Head of Research
Colin Basco, Institutional Research