Headlines

▌U.S. Senate Passes $430 Billion Inflation-cutting Bill

The U.S. Senate passed a $430 billion inflation reduction bill, and U.S. President Biden said that the House of Representatives should get the bill as soon as possible and look forward to signing it into law. The U.S. Senate passed the Democrats' inflation-cutting bill, and the U.S. Senate passed a landmark tax, climate and health care bill (the Inflation Reduction Act). The bill was voted with 51 Democrats in favor and 50 Republicans against, with U.S. Vice President Harris making a deadlock-breaking vote. The bill is now in the House of Representatives and is expected to pass on Friday.

Policies

▌Nepal has Drafted Necessary Amendments to Prepare to Issue CBDC

Nepal has drafted the necessary amendments to prepare for the issuance of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). A task force in Nepal has proposed legal changes allowing the country’s central bank to issue its own digital currency. The move comes after a study indicated that such an initiative is feasible and recommended certain provisions that would authorise the regulator to proceed with its realisation. The Nepal Rastra Bank intends to design a separate digital wallet for CBDC through which digital transactions can be conducted. Steps will also be taken to explore interoperability with digital payment service providers.

Cryptocurrency

▌The President of the Central African Republic: Supports the Use of Bitcoin Nationwide

According to a tweet by Bitcoin analyst Bitcoin Archive, the president of the Central African Republic expressed his support for the use of Bitcoin nationwide.

▌Morgan Stanley Job Posting Points to Wide-ranging Crypto Plans

Financial giant Morgan Stanley is looking for a product development manager with a primary focus on building a wide-range of new crypto products across business lines, according to a LinkedIn job posting by the firm. The position, posted on August 1, is to join the Investment Solutions Product Development team, which offers a wide-range of services that "support" more than $900 billion in assets under management. Specifically, the product manager hire would have a primary focus on creating packaged products and indexes. The job advert is one indication that Morgan Stanley is taking crypto more seriously and looking to bulk up its product offering after launching a private passive fund in March 2021. As previously reported by The Block, the firm told its legion of financial advisors that it could offer crypto exposure via products operated by Galaxy Digital and NYDIG.

▌Cryptocurrency Investors Refocus on the Stock Market to Judge Whether the Worst Is Over

After a wave of turmoil and anxiety about life and death, and existential anxiety, crypto asset investors are turning their attention to sentiment in the US stock market to judge whether the worst is over. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mike McGlone said cryptocurrencies would perform better “if the stock market has bottomed out.” “There is nothing more powerful in the market than the first half of the year when the stock market fell sharply”, he added.

▌AutoCoinCars COO: Buying Luxury Cars With Cryptocurrencies Doubled to $12 Million Last Year

Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann said the company was still facing a surge in demand, leading to an 18-month backlog. Initially, the backlog was a 12-month delay due to supply chain constraints, and more recently, demand has been extended to 2023. Despite the current economic uncertainty, Lamborghini still posted its highest six-month profit, driven by demand. In the first half of 2022, Lamborghini’s global deliveries surged to 5,090 units, an increase of 4.9%.

Key Economic Events

▌The Probability of the Fed Raising Interest Rates by 75 Basis Points in September Is 68%

According to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool, the probability of the Fed raising interest rates by 50 basis points in September is 32%, while an increase of 75 basis points is 68%. By November, the probability of accumulative interest rate hikes by 75/100/125 basis points is respectively 18%, 52.3%, and 29.7%.

▌U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: Will Return and Move Swiftly to Send the Inflation Reduction Act to Biden's Desk

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the U.S. House of Representatives will return and act quickly to send the bill to Biden’s desk. In earlier news, the US Senate passed a $430 billion anti-inflation bill.