Crypto & Macro: Tariffs, Fed Signals, and Onchain Evolution

This week, host Ben Floyd is joined by David Duong, David Han, and Greg Sutton to break down the latest macro and crypto market movements. We’ll dive into the impact of new tariffs on crypto, how the Fed might respond, and the key data points policymakers are watching next. We’ll also analyze weekend trading activity and BTC’s continued outperformance, alongside ETH’s relative weakness and overall funding rate trends.

David Sacks’ press conference on a potential Bitcoin strategic reserve continues discussion on the role of BTC in national reserves, and we’ll also explore the broader implications of a potential U.S. sovereign wealth fund.

On the onchain front, we’ll refresh on Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade, the implications of increasing validator balances, and the recent gas limit vote. We’ll also cover ETH’s inflation rate nearing BTC’s, Uniswap V4’s structural improvements, and the growing stablecoin supply, with $3B added this week—$2B on Ethereum alone. Finally, we compare DEX volumes to gauge onchain liquidity shifts.

Links:

• Coinbase Research
• 2025 Crypto Outlook

Topics Covered:

• Macro & Markets: Tariff impact, Fed expectations, and key economic signals.
• Trading Trends: BTC strength on pullbacks, ETH underperformance, and weekend activity.
• Onchain Updates: Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade, validator changes, and gas limit vote.
• Stablecoin & DEX Activity: Supply growth and liquidity trends.
• Uniswap V4: Programmable hooks, improved routing, and liquidity migration patterns.

Host:
 Ben Floyd, Head of Execution Services

Speakers:

• David Duong, Head of Institutional Research
• David Han, Research Analyst
• Greg Sutton, Senior CES Sales Trader