Macro risks are back in the spotlight for markets, with demand for S&P 500 downside protection rising.

According to market data from BIT (bit.com), Google (GOOG) rose more than 5% and is currently trading at $351.1.

Thomas Brunner, Head of Custody and Staking at Sygnum Bank, stated that Ethereum’s validator entry queue has grown to around 2.5 million ETH, with new stakers facing an approximate 43-day wait for activation. However, this metric cannot be simply viewed as a bullish signal, as the backlog reflects both institutional demand and protocol mechanics. Brunner noted that the Dencun upgrade cut the daily validator entry quota to roughly 57,600 ETH, while the Pectra upgrade did not raise this cap. Meanwhile, Pectra allows individual validators to hold up to 2048 ETH with automatic compounding. Large operators are adding stakes to existing validators, and even a 1 ETH top-up requires joining the same queue as new stakers. Thus, the current backlog stems in part from reconfigurations and compounding of existing stakes, not entirely from new ETH demand. In contrast, the nearly empty exit queue offers a clearer signal. Brunner said: “Almost no one is unstaking, which reflects genuine confidence; the entry queue measures both demand and infrastructure mechanics.” Currently, around 41.2 million ETH is staked, accounting for 33.8% of the circulating supply. He added that institutions have not halted participation amid ETH price weakness, with many now regarding staking yields as a native attribute of ETH. However, validator addresses, deposit addresses, and withdrawal credentials are all traceable, and privacy remains a major barrier for institutions looking to expand their staking scale.

Three Federal Reserve policymakers said the dissenting votes in favor of interest rate hikes this week stemmed from stubborn inflationary pressures, signaling rising internal pressure on Fed Chair Walsh to act. In statements released Friday morning, Harker and Kashkari said they are concerned that while the current round of price hikes may stem from temporary factors such as former President Trump’s tariff policies and Iran-related tensions, the inflation situation now warrants action from the Fed. Logan joined them, noting that even if inflation cools somewhat, it is unlikely to fall all the way back to the Fed’s 2% target without interest rate increases; without any policy tightening, inflation could remain above the target until an unexpected shock occurs. Kashkari said that if inflation stays stubborn, he could support a series of rate hikes rather than a single increase, to prevent inflation from becoming further entrenched. “A series of small policy adjustments may be better than waiting for the situation to develop and eventually having to take more drastic action,” he said. Harker said that without policy tightening, price growth could continue to accelerate. “Inflation has remained stubbornly above 2% for more than five years, and I have no confidence that it will fall back to our target on its own,” she noted. (Jinshi)

According to market data from BIT (bit.com), Amazon (AMZN)’s stock price surged 15.2%—its largest percentage gain since 2012—now trading at $271.3.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 4.7388%, the highest level since January 2025.

Fed officials Logan and Harker both defended their earlier stance of supporting a 25 basis point rate hike, boosting market expectations of further near-term monetary policy tightening. U.S. Treasury yields rose across the board, with selling pressure intensifying. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield climbed to 4.737%, hitting its highest intraday level since January 2025. As investors increased their bets on interest rates staying high or rising further, U.S. Treasury prices remained under pressure.