US-Iran tensions drive up oil prices, while Eurozone inflation rebound strengthens expectations of interest rate hikes.

Fed’s Kashkari said that to address the risk of entrenched inflation, he favors gradual policy tightening. If inflation remains persistently high, a series of small policy adjustments would be more effective than maintaining a wait-and-see stance while still concluding that bolder action is needed.

White House National Economic Council Director Hassett stated that based on current data, it is difficult to push forward with interest rate hikes.

Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted in a post that semiconductor ETFs had pulled in roughly $12 billion in inflows ahead of the sector’s sharp rebound yesterday. While semiconductor ETFs make up only around 1% of total ETF assets under management (AUM), their inflows this week accounted for 25% of all ETF net inflows. Balchunas added that speculative traders heavily bought the dip during the Monday-to-Wednesday decline, and profited again after the semiconductor sector rallied 7% yesterday. Compared to the historical inflow patterns of these ETFs, recent data is at an unusually high level, with related trading activity surging notably.

Circle announced that the New York State Department of Financial Services has granted a limited-purpose trust charter to its subsidiary Circle Internet Trust Company LLC. This license will further strengthen the regulatory foundation for the company and USDC. Circle stated that the New York trust charter underscores its commitment to security, transparency, and compliance standards. In 2015, Circle became the first company to obtain a BitLicense from the New York State Department of Financial Services, forging a long-term regulatory relationship with the agency. Jeremy Allaire, Circle’s co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer, said that securing the New York trust charter has long been a key goal for the company. The regulatory clarity provided by this license will position USDC within a robust, well-recognized regulatory framework as the digital dollar increasingly becomes a core component of the global financial system.

Prominent crypto trader Doctor Profit wrote in a post that while global capital is broadly betting on AI, a larger long-term shift could be the reshaping of the global financial system. He dubbed Circle, Coinbase, and ETH the "Galactic Trio", noting the three respectively represent regulated digital dollars, the custody and trading gateway for traditional capital to access on-chain markets, and the settlement network for asset tokenization, adding that he has built large long-term positions in all three. He remains bullish on BTC long-term, but has adjusted his crypto asset allocation for the current cycle to 60% ETH and 40% BTC. Doctor Profit pointed out that Coinbase is the primary custodian for BlackRock’s Bitcoin spot ETF, holds equity in Circle, and its Base network settles on Ethereum; Circle’s USDC reserve fund is managed by BlackRock. Ethereum also hosts BlackRock’s tokenized Treasury fund BUIDL and holds a dominant share of the real-world asset (RWA) tokenization market. Doctor Profit believes the potential benefits of the CLARITY Act for ETH, Circle, and Coinbase could outweigh those for BTC, as the legislation would further clarify regulatory rules for tokens, trading platforms, stablecoin yield products, and DeFi. He predicts that future on-chain finance will lean more toward compliance, regulation, and institutional leadership. He added that he purchased Circle shares at around $62 and expects its stock price to reach at least $500 by 2030.

Hyperliquid co-founder Jeff Yan announced in a post that the initial version of HIP-4’s permissionless deployment feature is now live on the testnet. Developers can learn about deployment operations via the relevant interface documentation. Subsequent features will be rolled out gradually, including configurable fees and more testnet templates. The team is currently collecting feedback from the community.