Bitcoin returns to the live market and surpasses $63,000
After a Wednesday drop to a new low this year of $57,722, Bitcoin bounced slightly and again rose above the $63,000 level.
The mood improved following remarks by Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, who spoke on Wednesday during a panel at the EBC Forum on central banking in Sintra, Portugal. Warsh said that inflation expectations and inflation risks in recent weeks had weakened. He also emphasized that it remains important for the Fed to bring inflation back to the 2% target.
His comments, combined with weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data released last week, including non‑farm payroll figures, slightly reduced the likelihood of a rate hike later this year.
This week the market’s focus will again turn to the Fed, this time because of the scheduled Wednesday release of the minutes from the June meeting. Investors will look for signals about the future path of rates. Any information suggesting that policymakers are leaning toward a gentler stance could support risk assets, including crypto assets.
Spot Bitcoin‑based ETF funds will also remain in the spotlight. On Friday they recorded $224 million in net inflows, ending a ten‑day run of outflows. Analysts will watch whether inflows hold in the coming days. A sustained trend change could indicate improving sentiment and suggest that Bitcoin has already set a new low price level.
We will see if this trend proves durable.
BIGGEST MARKET MOVES
Memecore was one of the strongest gainers last week, rising over 117%. The rise followed the announcement by MemeCore Foundation of a $10 million token buy‑back program aimed at restoring price stability.
Earlier, the token had been under strong downward pressure for several months. It only lost 75% of its value in June. The buy‑back announcement helped rebuild trust among retail investors and triggered a sharp rebound.
STORYLINES THAT CATCH ATTENTION
Standard Chartered will be the first global bank to offer institutional clients direct access to USDC
British international bank Standard Chartered announced last week the launch of a new service that will allow institutional clients to issue and redeem the USDC stablecoin.
With this, Standard Chartered becomes the first globally systemically important bank (G‑SIB) to have a license to offer institutional clients integrated access to USDC issuance and redemption within a single onboarding and servicing process. The new service eliminates the need for clients to hold direct accounts with Circle, the issuer of USDC.
The offering will initially be launched through the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) branch. It will primarily target entities using on‑chain settlements, treasury management, and liquidity management. Future plans also include adding more payment functions.
By combining fiduciary banking, digital asset infrastructure, and public blockchain networks in one bank‑run solution, institutions can transfer value between the traditional and digital financial ecosystems more quickly and transparently.
Standard Chartered stresses that directly integrating USDC access into its institutional client offering will combine banking, custodial services, and digital asset management into one integrated solution. As stated in the press release, the service will be delivered with risk management, regulatory compliance, and corporate governance standards expected of a leading international financial institution.
