Gold has been hitting new all-time highs each week since early 2024, propelled by U.S. rate cuts, geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East, the potential return of Donald Trump, and China's ongoing property crisis. Earlier this year, central banks - especially those of China and Russia - were major buyers of gold. Now, HNW individuals and U.S. hedge funds have joined in, pushing demand in the last quarter to the highest levels ever recorded for that period.
In response to economic challenges stemming from the real estate crisis that began around 2020, the PBoC introduced a suite of dovish measures this month to bolster the chinese economy, including cutting the reserve requirement ratio by 0.5 p.p, injecting approximately $142 billion into the banking system, and reducing the benchmark for the short-term rate by 20 bps. Additionally, the central bank launched a $114 billion lending pool to support capital markets (stocks and bonds), providing funds for corporate share buybacks and lending to non-bank financial institutions like insurers and brokers to purchase local equities.
August's Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index fell to 2.2%, dipping below market expectations and bringing the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation target within reach, it has signaled potential for further rate cuts, and with China's financial injections, global monetary easing is gaining momentum. As global monetary policies ease and risk appetite grows, the crypto market is starting to show signs of renewed vigor
Total Crypto Market Cap: $2.333T (+11.31%)
ETH DeFi TVL: $97.171B (+7.69%)
Stablecoins: $169.594B (+1.38%)
Imagine a bustling marketplace where traders don't just buy and sell goods but speculate on the future - politics, sports, technology, and pop culture. This is Polymarket, hailed as the world's largest prediction market in crypto. With daily active users rivalling the combined activity of many perpetual DEXs, Polymarket has become a hub for those eager to wager on questions like "Who will win the presidential election?" or "Will a new version of ChatGPT be released next year?"
As the election season heats up, interest in these markets has surged. Polymarket even caught the attention of Bloomberg, integrating its data for a broader audience. The growth is staggering - in 2020, the presidential election market saw only ~$10 million in volume. In contrast, in the first 9 months of the year, with nearly two months left before the election, the volume has already tenfold!