Federal Reserve's Harker: May Temporarily Hold Rates Steady

Due to the #oil price surge, loracle.hl(@loraclexyz) was fully liquidated on 104,848 $CL($9.68M), losing $680K. But he didn't give up. He opened another short on #oil and now holds a 33,500 $CL($3.07M) short position.

Overnight declines in U.S. chipmaker stocks rippled through Asian equity markets. South Korea’s KOSPI index fell as much as 6.1% on Friday, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both dropping over 7%, leading the Korea Exchange to temporarily suspend program trading. In recent weeks, this safety measure has been triggered with growing frequency in South Korea’s $4.1 trillion stock market. Friday’s selloff unfolded as investors sought to reduce risk ahead of the weekend, while Middle East tensions have pushed oil prices to near $100 per barrel. After four straight days of net buying, global investors resumed selling South Korean equities, primarily paring tech stock holdings. Shawn Oh, head of Korean cash equities at NH Investment & Securities, stated: “Due to persistent Middle East tensions, local funds are cutting tech positions and de-risking ahead of the weekend, amplifying downside risks.” Roy Lim, a stock sales trader at Samsung Securities, said some Asian hedge funds are offloading Samsung and SK Hynix shares to build positions in China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies, which is scheduled to list on July 27.

According to PeckShield’s monitoring, an address identified as the Drift attacker recently deposited 23,095.1 ETH into Tornado Cash, valued at roughly $44.4 million, and transferred 0.85 ETH to Bybit. Earlier, the Drift protocol suffered an attack on April 1, 2026, leading to approximately $285 million in crypto asset losses.

According to Farside’s monitoring, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs posted a net outflow of $225.1 million yesterday, ending a streak of seven consecutive trading days of net inflows. Breakdown by fund: IBIT saw a net outflow of $202.5 million; FBTC recorded a net outflow of $5.6 million; BITB’s net outflow stood at $7 million; ARKB’s net outflow hit $4.3 million; EZBC’s net outflow came to $5.6 million; BTCW’s net outflow totaled $5.1 million; while MSBT posted a net inflow of $5 million.

Due to escalating shipping risks in the Middle East, oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to its lowest level in two and a half months, pushing oil prices back to near $100 per barrel. Vessel tracking data shows only one oil tanker passed through the Strait of Hormuz on July 23, the lowest figure since May 7. By contrast, three tankers transited the strait on July 22. Data indicates the Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) New Giant departed the strait that day, carrying around 2 million barrels of Iraqi Basra crude oil and is expected to arrive at China’s Rizhao Port in mid-August. No vessels entered the strait on that day. The U.S. military stated it had completed its 13th consecutive night of military strikes on Iran, further intensifying market concerns over the security of Middle East energy shipping. Meanwhile, shipping activity at the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has partially recovered: 32 oil tankers transited the strait on July 23, up from 26 the previous day, with 14 heading to the Red Sea and 18 bound for the Gulf of Aden. Amid regional risks, some oil tankers have begun rerouting. Data shows some tankers bound for Asia are choosing to detour via the Suez Canal instead of the traditional Bab el-Mandeb route, which could extend their voyage by nearly three times. Additionally, Saudi Aramco has started offering extra crude loading options via Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Sidi Kerir, as an alternative to loading at Red Sea ports, to mitigate the impact of regional conflicts on exports.

According to Politico, U.S. Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego has criticized the ethics provisions of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act) recently tabled by Senate Republicans, dismissing the draft as "not a serious effort." This Wednesday, Senate Republicans unveiled the CLARITY Act draft, which includes digital asset ethics restrictions that would ban all U.S. federal officials—including former President Donald Trump—from issuing or supporting any digital assets. Democrats argue the ethics provisions are insufficiently robust. Gallego said he will collaborate with Republican Senator Thom Tillis and others to put forward a new counter-proposal. "We are still in this fight and will submit new provisions," Gallego stated. Republicans, for their part, counter that the relevant ethics rules are already strict enough. Senator Bernie Moreno claimed the draft contains "the strongest ethics provisions in U.S. history." The CLARITY Act is designed to clarify the regulatory framework for the U.S. digital asset market, but its provisions addressing conflicts of interest between government officials and crypto assets have emerged as the main point of contention in bipartisan negotiations.