Report: Rug Pull Incidents in the Crypto Space Have Decreased, but Their Impact Has Grown

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will release July CPI data at 8:30 PM Beijing Time tonight. The Dow Jones consensus forecast projects a 0.1% month-over-month rise in headline CPI, a 0.2% month-over-month increase in core CPI, and year-over-year gains of 3.4% and 2.5% respectively. Both figures are down 0.1 percentage points from June, yet remain well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation target. Currently, traders are pricing in roughly a 50% chance of a September rate hike, meaning tonight’s data will directly tip the balance. RSM chief economist Joseph Brusuelas noted that if the data meets expectations, two consecutive months of moderate inflation readings will give the FOMC more time to assess, adding: “The committee will remain on hold for the rest of this year.” In June, headline CPI fell 0.4% month-over-month while core CPI was flat, driven by lower energy prices and moderating housing costs. If July’s data beats forecasts, the landscape will shift quickly. Bank of America forecasts that if the Fed’s key inflation gauge averages a 0.25% monthly rise over the next two months, a September rate hike is almost guaranteed; if the average is below 0.2%, a hike may be delayed; if it lands between 0.2% and 0.25%, the September decision will be a toss-up. At the July FOMC meeting, three members voted for an immediate 25 basis point rate hike, and Governor Cook recently said he would view a rate hike as necessary if inflation data does not align. Markets also assign a higher probability to rate hikes in October or December. The final outcome hinges on the policy stance of Waller – whether he is truly willing to pull the trigger on a hike, or if his dovish remarks at the July press conference better reflect his policy views.

Goldman Sachs believes the macro narrative surrounding AI capital expenditure (capex) is being amplified by the market. As the Q2 U.S. earnings season draws to a close, large tech firms continue to increase their AI infrastructure investment, while investors keep trading around data centers, chips, cloud services, and power demand. However, Goldman economist Jessica Rindels notes that AI capex’s direct contribution to U.S. GDP may not be as large as the market expects. The bank’s core view is that many AI devices are imported and not fully reflected in U.S. GDP statistics; meanwhile, the transmission of AI-related activities to economic data is incomplete. Goldman estimates that when factoring in AI investment’s crowding-out effect on other capital expenditures, stock market wealth effects, and rising costs such as electricity prices, AI-related factors will contribute a net impact of only around 0.1 percentage points to U.S. GDP growth in 2026.

Hong Kong-listed Nanfang Double Leveraged SK Hynix (07709) rose 10.32% to HK$31.000; Nanfang Double Leveraged Samsung Electronics (07747) gained 13.40% to HK$74.480.

According to Bitget's market data, spot silver rose more than 1% intraday, currently trading at $65.32 per ounce.

According to Bitget's market data, South Korea's KOSPI index expanded its intraday gain to 3.7%, Samsung Electronics jumped 6.7%, and SK Hynix rose 5.4%.

According to market data from BIT (bit.com), Bitcoin mining firm Riot Platforms rose 4.33% on Tuesday, adding another 0.54% in after-hours trading to close at $20.35. Yesterday, Anthropic and Riot reached a $9.1 billion AI computing power agreement to meet the growing computing needs of Claude users. Riot will supply 191MW of computing power to the AI developer at its Rockdale campus in Texas under a 20-year contract. Sources familiar with the matter confirmed the client is Anthropic. Formerly focused on Bitcoin mining, Riot is now transitioning to AI and cloud computing infrastructure business, similar to several other crypto mining companies.