Crypto Markets Rally on Fed Cut Hopes

Crypto Markets Rally on Fed Cut Hopes

Cryptocurrency markets rallied on Thursday as weaker-than-expected U.S. labor data strengthened hopes for early interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, reigniting investor appetite for Bitcoin and other risk assets amid a more dovish monetary outlook.

Adding to the bullish momentum, Standard Chartered raised its year-end Bitcoin forecast, citing rising corporate treasury allocations and robust exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows. The bank now expects Bitcoin to hit $135,000 by Q3-end, and break $200,000 by year-end, according to Geoff Kendrick, head of digital asset research.

Markets were further lifted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s surprise trade deal with Vietnam, which offers tariff-free access for U.S. exports while penalizing rerouted Vietnamese goods—spurring optimism across global risk assets.

Meanwhile, the BlackRock iBIT ETF—which tracks Bitcoin—has begun generating higher fees than the firm’s flagship S&P 500 ETF, underscoring surging demand for crypto-linked instruments.

Ethereum (ETH) jumped 6% to $2,600. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan expects spot Ethereum ETF flows to ramp up in H2 2025. Separately, Robinhood confirmed it’s developing a Layer-2 chain on Arbitrum to tokenize stocks and other assets on Ethereum.

Among altcoins, DOGE, ADA, HYPE, LINK, AVAX, LTC, and HBAR all posted ~8% gains, while SUI led the pack with a 12% rally.

In ETF flows:

· Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a $407.8 million net inflow on July 2

· Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded a $1.9 million net outflow

Rex-Osprey’s Solana Staking ETF launched with $12 million in inflows and $33 million in volume, pushing SOL up 4% to $155

Ripple (XRP) rose 4% to $2.25 after filing for a U.S. national banking charter, aiming to expand federally regulated crypto services.

BONK surged 21% after Tuttle Capital set July 16 as the tentative launch date for its 2x leveraged ETF.

Upbit, South Korea’s largest exchange, listed MOODENG with KRW, BTC, and USDT pairs—sending the token up 40% to $0.1955.

PancakeSwap, a multichain DEX, reported a record $325 billion trading volume in June, its highest monthly figure ever. Its native token CAKE rose 5%, trading near $2.39.

Outlook:

July is gearing up as a high-stakes month for crypto, with key macro events driving potential volatility. Trump’s $3.3T budget bill, tariff decisions on July 9, and the July 22 crypto executive order deadline for U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve could inject fresh momentum into Bitcoin.

Analysts see rate-cut hopes rising on soft labor data, boosting liquidity for risk assets. Despite the noise, leverage remains contained, keeping the market stable. K33’s head of research advises staying patient and holding spot positions, as crypto enters a typically apathetic yet opportunity-rich summer stretch.

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