ChainCatcher news, Torsten Slok from the asset management firm Apollo stated in a report that, as data continues to show that the U.S. economy remains relatively strong, the Federal Reserve may change its course and not cut interest rates at all.He said, "The Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank's forecast for third-quarter GDP is currently 3.4%, and the bottom line is that the economy will continue to expand." Slok believes that the economy benefits from favorable factors, including a dovish Federal Reserve, the impending end of election uncertainty, and easing geopolitical risks. Slok stated that considering these factors, the Federal Reserve is more likely to keep interest rates unchanged in November rather than cut them.

ChainCatcher message, Fed's Logan stated that if the economy meets expectations, a gradual rate cut is anticipated. (Jin Ten)

ChainCatcher news, Matrixport released a chart stating that this year, the trading volume of Bitcoin options has significantly increased, indicating that more mature traders are entering the market. With the SEC's recent approval of options trading for Bitcoin spot ETFs, trading volume is expected to rise further, especially with the tilt towards BlackRock's Bitcoin spot ETF (IBIT), which is likely to attract more institutional investors and deepen their focus on the crypto market.

ChainCatcher news, Sun Guanjun, the chief judge of the People's Court of Taiping and a senior judge at level four, and Wei Yuzheng, a judicial police officer from the judicial police team, co-authored "The Validity of Virtual Currency Transactions." The article points out that the legal and regulatory framework regarding the validity of virtual currency transactions should be improved as soon as possible.On one hand, it is necessary to quickly resolve historical issues and provide corresponding solutions on how to handle virtual currency transactions that occurred before the issuance of the "Announcement on Preventing the Risks of Token Issuance Financing" by the People's Bank of China, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the China Banking Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.On the other hand, for the issues faced in judicial practice regarding the seizure and confiscation of virtual currencies that cannot be disposed of, feasible solutions should be introduced to maximize the protection of the parties' interests.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reiterated that if elected again on November 5, he would significantly lower U.S. interest rates, but did not elaborate on any policy measures.This statement was made in response to questions from the audience about housing affordability at a town hall event in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Trump stated: "We need to significantly lower interest rates to improve the economy, and one more thing—interest rates; you can't borrow money at all right now."

ChainCatcher news, ECB board member Mahrouf stated that he does not believe the ECB should cut interest rates faster; geopolitical risks are more dangerous in some ways than ever before; the impact of geopolitics is beyond the control of the ECB.

ChainCatcher news, Trump's economic advisor Kevin Hassett stated in an interview that it is a reasonable move for the Federal Reserve to cut the main interest rate by 50 basis points instead of 25 basis points, as data shows that the job market is weakening. He believes that a significant rate cut is justified based on the data at the time, as economic growth has slowed considerably.Hassett agrees with Trump's view that the Federal Reserve has taken "political actions" in recent years. He stated, "I think it is reasonable to believe that the Federal Reserve has not been as independent as it should be." He mentioned the Federal Reserve's decision to raise rates in December 2016 before Trump's inauguration, despite the fact that "the data did not support a rate hike." He added that later, during "the Democratic administration's fiscal policy going out of control, the Federal Reserve did not take action."However, Hassett denied concerns that Trump would attempt to undermine the independence of the Federal Reserve in a second term. He stated, "I believe President Trump supports an independent Federal Reserve, but he also wants his voice to be heard, and he hopes there are truly independent people there."

ChainCatcher news, Citigroup economist Jin-Wook Kim stated in a report that the Bank of Korea may cut interest rates more quickly and more significantly to address weaker-than-expected economic growth. Kim indicated that the Bank of Korea is expected to lower rates by 25 basis points in January, April, and July of 2025.Previously, the Bank of Korea lowered the benchmark interest rate from 3.50% to 3.25% on October 11, initiating an easing monetary policy. This was one month earlier than Citigroup's previous forecast, Kim added. He pointed out that the central bank may also cut rates twice more in 2026—possibly in January and July—bringing the policy rate down to 2.00%, below Citigroup's earlier forecast of 2.50%.

ChainCatcher news, according to Coinglass data, as of October 18, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Bitcoin futures open interest (USD) reached $12.3 billion, breaking the historical high and accounting for 31% of the total open interest in Bitcoin futures contracts in the current crypto market ($39.1 billion).In addition, K33Research analyst Vetle Lunde stated that the current institutional preference is to build long positions. With a significant increase in open interest, the futures premium has risen to a 5-month high.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, ECB President Lagarde stated that the decision to cut interest rates was unanimously approved, and inflation may fall to target levels next year. Currently, inflation forecasts still carry two-way risks, with the downside risks to inflation being greater than the upside risks.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, after the release of U.S. retail sales and initial jobless claims data, traders expect the Federal Reserve's rate cut this year will be reduced.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, the European Central Bank has lowered the deposit facility rate from 3.5% to 3.25%, in line with market expectations. At the same time, the main refinancing rate and the marginal lending rate have been adjusted from 3.65% and 3.9% to 3.4% and 3.65%, respectively.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, Goldman Sachs stated on Wednesday that it expects the Federal Reserve to consecutively cut interest rates by 25 basis points between November 2024 and June 2025, ultimately lowering the rate range to 3.25%-3.5%.

ChainCatcher news, according to Coinglass data, the total open positions of Bitcoin contracts across the network have exceeded 39 billion USD, currently reported at 39.409 billion USD, setting a new historical high.In the past 24 hours, the increase in total open positions across the network has reached 4.64%.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, Claudia Sahm, the founder of the Sam Rule and an economist, stated that she expects the Federal Reserve to continue to steadily lower interest rates, but it is unlikely to cut rates by as much as 50 basis points like in September. Although the Federal Reserve's efforts to curb inflation have been successful so far, Sahm acknowledges that consumers may not view the economy as positively as experts do.

ChainCatcher news, Mossfire Capital co-founder Raymond Huang, during the Space event "With the Bull Market Approaching, How Can Secondary Investors See Through Market Fog?" hosted by RootData, stated that although the interest rate cut policy was officially implemented last month, the expectations for rate cuts had already begun to take effect a year ago. He pointed out that the Crypto market is more sensitive to the Federal Reserve's liquidity policy, and without the support of macro policy "easing," it is difficult for the market to rise.Raymond Huang expects that interest rates will continue to decline over the next year to year and a half, which will have a significant impact on crypto assets as a fringe asset.

ChainCatcher news, K33 Research senior analyst Vetle Lunde stated that the CME Bitcoin futures open interest reached a nominal all-time high yesterday, totaling 172,430 BTC. With the significant increase in open interest, the futures premium has risen to a 5-month high.The analyst believes that the growth in open interest is driven by active/direct market participants, rather than inflows from futures-based ETFs.