Minority Mindset

What the Federal Reserve says about future interest rate increases will be the most important part of this week’s meeting. Everyone expects rates to stay the same, so the focus will be on the Fed’s overall message, not on any actual changes. Generally, things are still difficult for investments. With the Fed likely to keep interest rates high for a while, it’s not a good time for risky investments, and even a suggestion that rates might go *up* could cause concern in the market.

In a joint interpretation that reads like a poorly written fairy tale, the agencies have outlined how these crypto critters fit (or don’t fit) under federal securities laws. The highlight? Most crypto assets, they say, are as much securities as a chocolate teapot is useful. Brilliant, isn’t it?

Higgins, with the gravitas of a man who’s seen more market tides than a seaside hotel concierge, offered a parable for the ages. Picture this: the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, that venerable temple of derivatives, has long treated XRP as an uninvited guest at the buffet. Institutions wishing to trade CME futures? They’d have to sell their XRP, convert it to dollars, and endure the existential crisis of crystallised gains-like watching your favorite scarf shrink in the dryer, but with tax forms.