The Federal Reserve voted on July 29 to keep the discount rate unchanged at 3.75%, even as the federal funds rate decision showed a 9-3 split. Beth Hammack, Neel Kashkari and Lorie Logan supported a 25 basis point hike, citing inflation that remains above the Fed’s 2% target. Chair Kevin Warsh said in the meeting minutes that tighter monetary policy may be needed if inflation does not ease. The split decision highlights a cautious stance on the discount rate and deeper debate over the policy path ahead. Markets are now watching the next meeting, set for Sept. 15-16, for any increase in support for a rate hike.

A Bitunix analyst said global financial conditions are facing a new test as pressure builds from the US Treasury market, the Japanese yen and renewed trade friction. Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said he has not seen signs of dysfunction in the Treasury market, arguing that the 10-year US Treasury yield, near 4.7%, is elevated but not historically abnormal. In that setting, the Federal Reserve can keep fighting inflation as its main task instead of adjusting policy in response to moves in long-dated yields. The analyst said this suggests the Fed is unlikely to make stabilizing the long end of the bond market a near-term policy objective even with US government debt above $40 trillion. That stance stands apart from the Treasury Department’s recent effort to lower financing costs by expanding long-bond buybacks. At the same time, market bets on a Bank of Japan rate hike on Sept. 18 have risen to about 82%, while the yen has moved back toward 160. The note also pointed to the breakdown in US-Canada trade talks and higher US tariffs on Canadian goods as factors reviving supply-chain and inflation risks. Jackson Hole is now seen as the next key event to watch.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said on Aug. 24 that the recent rise in the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield to around 4.7% does not represent a historically abnormal level and does not signal dysfunction in the Treasury market. In his view, the Federal Reserve does not need to adjust policy in response to bond yield volatility and should keep inflation control at the center of its mandate. Kashkari said long-term Treasury yields are being shaped by several forces, including inflation expectations, AI investment, government borrowing, economic growth and productivity, and that it is still too early to identify the main driver behind the recent global rise in bond yields. He added that Treasury issuance and debt market management should remain the responsibility of the U.S. Treasury Department, while the Fed should stay focused on inflation and employment. He also warned that the Iran conflict could lift energy prices, while trade friction between the United States and Canada may prolong supply-side price pressure. Kashkari noted that the Fed has repeatedly expected inflation to return to 2% within one to two years, but that timeline has kept slipping. Markets are now watching this week’s Jackson Hole meeting, with Waller’s Friday remarks seen as a possible source of fresh signals for the September rate decision.

Federal Reserve official Neel Kashkari played down concerns over the recent rise in U.S. Treasury yields, saying market functioning remains solid and the move is unlikely to alter ongoing monetary policy discussions. According to ChainCatcher, Kashkari said trading in the U.S. Treasury market is proceeding normally and that liquidity remains ample. He also said the federal funds rate is still the main tool for bringing inflation down. The remarks suggest he does not see the recent surge in yields, by itself, as a factor that would materially shift how policymakers approach current policy deliberations.

A White House crypto gathering set the tone for the day’s market and policy headlines. U.S. President Donald Trump urged Congress to move the CLARITY Act forward, calling it a powerful market-structure bill, while saying Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig is working to bring Hyperliquid into the U.S. in a fully compliant way. HYPE rose more than 20% over 24 hours following those remarks. The event came ahead of the first meeting of the CFTC’s Innovation Advisory Committee, which is scheduled to cover crypto regulation, AI in trading and compliance, and prediction markets. At the same time, Coinbase said it has integrated Hyperliquid into Base App to offer perpetual futures trading to eligible users with up to 50x leverage in supported jurisdictions. Outside the policy story, VanEck said Bitcoin has triggered eight of its 12 capitulation indicators, suggesting the market is approaching historical bear-market bottom zones, though not necessarily a confirmed bottom. PANews’ daily roundup also highlighted Unitree’s launch of a 7-axis bionic robotic arm starting at 9,900 yuan, fresh ETF flow data, new funding deals across AI infrastructure, and several project updates spanning Berachain, Nethermind, Aligned, Linera and Flop Labs.

The U.S. Treasury jolted markets by doubling liquidity buybacks for 10- to 30-year Treasurys from a maximum of $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation, a move that helped pull long-dated yields lower after a sharp bond selloff. The 30-year yield fell by more than 9 basis points on the day, while the 10-year yield slipped back toward 4.64%. The dollar index dropped 0.86% to 98.69, spot gold surged through $4,500 an ounce, and Bitcoin briefly climbed to $70,064, its highest level since June 2, according to OKX data. At the same time, minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting struck a hawkish tone. Rates were left unchanged at 3.5% to 3.75%, but three voters — Logan, Hammack and Kashkari — dissented in favor of an immediate 25-basis-point hike. The minutes also showed officials discussing AI-driven inflation pressure in chips, steel, power and data-center materials, while warning that aggressive borrowing and overly optimistic profit assumptions could leave AI valuations vulnerable. Equity leadership shifted sharply. A successful Phase 3 personalized mRNA cancer vaccine trial from Moderna and Merck ignited a rally in drugmakers and biotech, while semiconductor, storage and optical-networking names tied to AI momentum selling continued to weaken. Crypto-linked stocks also jumped, helped by stronger Bitcoin prices and comments tied to Hyperliquid’s possible compliant U.S. entry.

A dense 24-hour stretch across crypto and macro markets brought a mix of token airdrops, policy signals, whale liquidations, and AI-related capital flows. Binance Alpha opened the third round of its STABLE airdrop, while Berachain rebranded its stablecoin HONEY to Bera USD, with no contract change but a required re-signing for some permits because of EIP-712 domain separation. In macro markets, the U.S. Treasury said it will at least double the size of liquidity-support buybacks for long-dated nominal coupon securities, lifting the cap per operation from $2 billion to at least $4 billion starting Sept. 9, 2026. After the announcement, Bitcoin briefly rose to $69,749, its highest level since June 2, even as Bitfinex said the rally still lacks stablecoin support. On the regulatory side, the CFTC secured supplemental consent orders against former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang, while also scheduling the first meeting of its Innovation Advisory Committee and seeking public comment on computing-power derivatives contracts. In markets, major leveraged positions were wiped out across BTC and ETH, including a 1,800 BTC short that was fully liquidated. Hyperliquid’s HYPE token climbed more than 20% after President Donald Trump said CFTC Chair Michael S. Selig was working to bring the platform into the U.S. in a fully compliant way, even as FalconX and Multicoin Capital moved large amounts of HYPE to exchanges.

Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting showed that several officials leaned toward raising interest rates last month, with many policymakers saying tighter monetary policy could be needed if inflation fails to move lower. The discussion took place around the July 28-29 meeting, where uncertainty remained a central concern for officials. The minutes said participants reiterated that their reading of incoming data would remain an important part of policy deliberations. The document also showed dissent within the committee. Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari voted against the decision and favored a 25-basis-point rate increase. Kansas City Fed President Schmid and St. Louis Fed President Musalem, who did not have voting rights in July, said they would have supported a hike if they had been able to vote. Most of the policy debate centered on competing inflation outlooks. While most participants expected inflation to gradually ease through the rest of the year as the effects of tariffs and higher energy prices faded, many also said inflation could remain elevated for longer. Officials described the inflation outlook as highly uncertain and said the renewed escalation of the Iran war had made that outlook less clear. They also said the labor market remained stable, supply and demand were broadly balanced, and economic growth stayed robust, with strong capital investment and productivity gains.