Federal Reserve's Harker: May Temporarily Hold Rates Steady

According to Bloomberg, JPMorgan analysts noted that investor concerns over CoreWeave’s rising debt and rapid cash burn may be overblown, with the company’s financing needs stemming from its rapid expansion rather than poor economic performance of individual projects. Earlier, rising bond yields amplified market worries about its debt-fueled expansion, leading the firm’s stock to drop around 20% last week. JPMorgan believes CoreWeave’s business model remains solid, with strong demand for computing power, and long-term "take-or-pay" contracts can lock in customers before new production capacity comes online. Per its calculations, the unleveraged internal rate of return (IRR) for a typical 5-year contract is around 15%, higher than the company’s estimated weighted average cost of capital (WACC) of 9% to 11%; GPU re-signings after contract expiration can also generate additional revenue. However, aggressive expansion is expected to continue pressuring short-term cash flow. The bank estimates that every 1 gigawatt (GW) of fully operational capacity can generate $10 billion to $15 billion in annual revenue, but adding 1 GW of capacity requires over $35 billion in upfront capital expenditure. The company may not be able to fund its expansion with cash from existing operations until 2030.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) stated in recent court filings that CME Group merely claims heightened competition, but has not reasonably demonstrated imminent financial harm — a deficiency that leaves it insufficient to establish standing to challenge its perpetual contract policy. The CFTC noted that CME’s crypto futures trading volume has actually risen following the policy adjustment. The CFTC approved Kalshi’s first bitcoin perpetual contract in May this year, and said it would regulate such products as futures on a case-by-case basis. For its part, CME argues that perpetual contracts have no expiration date and should be classified as swaps rather than futures, falling under a separate regulatory framework. The CFTC had asked a federal judge to dismiss the case last month, and the latest filings further elaborate on its rebuttal to CME’s standing claim. The regulator also pointed out that CME previously told investors it had not received client demand for perpetual contracts, and that such products cannot replace its existing futures, arguing CME should not take conflicting positions in court and earnings calls. TD Cowen policy analyst Jaret Seiberg believes CME may still hold the upper hand in arguments regarding standing and the classification of the products as swaps. However, he expressed concern that if the perpetual contract market continues to grow during the litigation, it could become far more complex to unwind the market later if CME prevails in the case.

According to Bitget data, South Korea’s KOSPI index posted an intraday decline of 2%. SK Hynix’s drop widened to 4%, while Samsung Electronics fell nearly 2%.

According to an official announcement, Coinbase has announced that it will include Axis Labs (AXIS), Pearl (PEARL), and Stable (STABLE) in its token listing roadmap.

BlackRock has filed an application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the iShares Bitcoin Managed Protect ETF, which is designed to offer a degree of downside protection while capturing upside returns from its flagship Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) or similar Bitcoin exposure, with a cap on those upside gains. BlackRock launched IBIT in January 2024, and it currently holds over $65 billion in assets under management (AUM), making it the largest product of its kind. In June this year, the firm also launched the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, which aims to deliver Bitcoin exposure while generating monthly options premium income. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said this is BlackRock’s third Bitcoin ETF application. He noted that while other institutions have launched ETFs covering assets such as XRP, SOL, and DOGE, BlackRock’s current product lineup only includes Bitcoin and Ethereum-related offerings.

According to a Reuters report, people familiar with the matter disclosed that OpenAI is accelerating its push for a new round of financing worth approximately $30 billion, aiming to lock in investor commitments ahead of Anthropic’s expected mid-November initial public offering (IPO). The company’s valuation could exceed $1.4 trillion. SoftBank, Abu Dhabi’s investment firm MGX, and other existing investors are in discussions about participating in this financing round, though investment arrangements have not been finalized. The two firms are competing for a similar set of investors. Last week, OpenAI held meetings with long-term funds and sovereign wealth funds. Some investors believe this move is intended to secure capital that would otherwise flow to Anthropic’s IPO. OpenAI also needs funds to support large-scale infrastructure investments and strengthen its balance sheet amid a deteriorating IPO market and further delays to its 2027 IPO plan. According to one insider, OpenAI told investors that revenue growth has accelerated following the launch of GPT-6 Astra, with annualized revenue reaching $50 billion and projected to hit $70 billion by the end of the year. The company also aims to complete the financing before Anthropic discloses more complete financial information, which would prompt further comparisons by investors.