Crypto Bulls Frustrated; Asian FX Bears Ease

Crypto News:

Bitcoin Drops as German Government Unloads Over $900M Worth of BTC

Bitcoin (BTC) fell on Monday afternoon in Europe as the German government transferred over $900 million worth of assets from its bitcoin holdings, blockchain data shows. According to blockchain data platform Arkham Intelligence, Bitcoin wallets labeled as belonging to the German government moved a total of roughly 16,309 BTC in several batches to external addresses, including to crypto exchanges Bitstamp, Kraken and Coinbase and market makers Flow Traders and Cumberland DRW. Bitcoin's price dropped 3% to as low as $55,000 shortly after the last group of blockchain transactions totalling 8,700 BTC. Later, it rebounded to slightly above $56,000, still down 1.2% over the past 24 hours.

Crypto Bulls Frustrated as Bitcoin and Stocks Recouple

While bitcoin (BTC) has struggled mightily over the past months, with its price falling more than 20% since hitting a record high in mid-March, U.S. stocks – as represented by the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 – have seemingly been on a one-way path higher. Both of those equity averages closed in the green for the seventh consecutive day on Wednesday, with both hitting all-time highs. For the S&P 500, it was its 37th record close of 2024 and for the Nasdaq, its 27th, according to MarketWatch. A report yesterday in The Block noted that bitcoin's correlations with those gauges had fallen to multi-month lows – to minus 0.84 with the Nasdaq and minus 0.82 with the S&P 500.

Global News:

Asian FX bears ease as U.S. rate cut bets solidify

Short positions on most Asian currencies eased, as rising expectations of at least two rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve this year and an easing dollar boosted risk sentiment, a Reuters poll found on Thursday. Bearish bets on the Singapore dollar and the Thai baht were at the lowest since early January, while those on the Indonesian rupiah eased to their lowest level since mid-March, according to a fortnightly poll of 11 analysts. Growing expectations of the Fed's two rate cuts this year after a slew of worse-than-expected economic data was the "main factor" in bearish bets easing. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said "more good data" would build the case for the U.S. central bank to cut interest rates. Investors now await the release of June inflation data from the U.S., due later on Thursday, which is expected to show inflation cooling and make a case for a September rate cut.

AI frenzy takes Taiwan's TSMC to record peak, puts it in the trillion dollar club

Taiwan's TSMC scaled a record high on Thursday after posting strong second-quarter revenue on booming demand for AI applications, cementing its position as Asia's most valuable company. TSMC also topped a trillion dollar market value this week. The AI frenzy has sparked a rally in chipmaker stocks across the globe. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, whose customers include AI poster child Nvidia, has especially benefited from the soaring demand for AI-capable chips. Foreign investors have poured $4.8 billion so far this year into Taiwan's stock market, which is dominated by TSMC. Asian funds, however, according to HSBC, still remain underweight on Taiwan, suggesting there could be room for further inflow.

Local News:

BOI investment approvals surged by 36% to P950B in H1

Investment approvals by the Board of Investments soared by 36 percent to P950 billion during the first half of the year, still mainly driven by projects in the renewable energy sector. Of the total approvals, P286 billion were foreign investments. In the same period in 2023, the BOI approved P698 billion worth of investments. “Our strategic initiatives are vital for ensuring that the Philippines attracts and retains global investments. We are committed to creating an enabling environment that supports business growth and development across various sectors,” Trade secretary and BOI chair Alfredo Pascual said in a statement.