Investors are counting down to the Federal Reserve’s Sept. 17 monetary policy decision; markets expect a quarter-point rate cut that could trigger short-term volatility but potentially fuel longer-term gains across risk assets.

The economic backdrop highlights the Fed’s delicate balancing act.

According to the latest CPI report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday, consumer prices rose 0.4% in August, lifting the annual CPI rate to 2.9% from 2.7% in July, as shelter, food, and gasoline pushed costs higher. Core CPI also climbed 0.3%, extending its steady pace of recent months.

Producer prices told a similar story: per the latest PPI report released on Wednesday, the headline PPI index slipped 0.1% in August but remained 2.6% higher than a year earlier, while core PPI advanced 2.8%, the largest yearly increase since March. Together, the reports underscore stubborn inflationary pressure even as growth slows.

The labor market has softened further.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by just 22,000 in August, with federal government and energy sector job losses offsetting modest gains in health care. Unemployment held at 4.3%, while labor force participation remained stuck at 62.3%.

Revisions showed June and July job growth was weaker than initially reported, reinforcing signs of cooling momentum. Average hourly earnings still rose 3.7% year over year, keeping wage pressures alive.

Bond markets have adjusted accordingly. Per data from MarketWatch, 2-year Treasury yield sits at 3.56%, while the 10-year is at 4.07%, leaving the curve modestly inverted. Futures traders see a 93% chance of a 25 basis point cut, according to CME FedWatch.

If the Fed limits its move to just 25 bps, investors may react with a “buy the rumor, sell the news” response, since markets have already priced in relief.

Equities are testing record levels.

The S&P 500 closed Friday at 6,584 after rising 1.6% for the week, its best since early August. The index’s one-month chart shows a strong rebound from its late-August pullback, underscoring bullish sentiment heading into Fed week.

The Nasdaq Composite also notched five straight record highs, ending at 22,141, powered by gains in megacap tech stocks, while the Dow slipped below 46,000 but still booked a weekly advance.

Crypto and commodities have rallied alongside.

Bitcoin is trading at $115,234, below its Aug. 14 all-time high near $124,000 but still firmly higher in 2025, with the global crypto market cap now $4.14 trillion.

Gold has surged to $3,643 per ounce, near record highs, with its one-month chart showing a steady upward trajectory as investors price in lower real yields and seek inflation hedges.

Historical precedent supports the cautious optimism.

Analysis from the Kobeissi Letter — reported in an X thread posted Saturday — citing Carson Research, shows that in 20 of 20 prior cases since 1980 where the Fed cut rates within 2% of S&P 500 all-time highs, the index was higher one year later, averaging gains of nearly 14%.

The shorter term is less predictable: in 11 of those 22 instances, stocks fell in the month following the cut. Kobeissi argues this time could follow a similar pattern — initial turbulence followed by longer-term gains as rate relief amplifies the momentum behind assets like equities, bitcoin and gold.

The broader setup explains why traders are watching the Sept. 17 announcement closely.

Cutting rates while inflation edges higher and stocks hover at records risks denting credibility, yet staying on hold could spook markets that have already priced in easing. Either way, the Fed’s message on growth, inflation, and its policy outlook will likely shape the trajectory of markets for months to come.

• Every growth investor should be closely monitoring AI stocks.

• If I could only buy one AI stock, this would be it.

• 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia ›

When it comes to growth investing, finding businesses that can grow by leaps and bounds for decades to come is a dream. But that’s what many popular artificial intelligence (AI) stocks today offer. If I could only buy one AI stock, the GPU manufacturer below would be it.

Nvidia is my top choice for every growth investor

In my opinion, every growth investor should be paying close attention to Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). In fact, I think it should top your watch list of companies to consider investing in. That’s because the company sits at the center of the AI revolution. The United Nations predicts AI spending will grow by more than 30% annually for the next decade. Most longer-term forecasts believe this growth should be sustained for many years to follow. Being at the center of this industry, therefore, is a great place to be.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

Image source: Getty Images.

What makes Nvidia so special? It’s the leading producer of GPUs — specialized components that make most artificial intelligence and machine learning tasks possible — for the entire AI industry. Many estimates believe the company has a market share of 90% or more. This dominant market share is fueled by early investment and a powerful software platform that keeps users embedded within Nvidia’s ecosystem.

Nvidia is facing some short-term headwinds due to the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China. But long term, there’s no denying that the firm will benefit immensely from rising AI spending, a trend that could persist for quite a while. If you’re new to growth investing, Nvidia needs to be one of the first companies you consider for your portfolio.

Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now?

Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $640,916!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,090,012!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,052% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 188% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of September 8, 2025

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

When markets feel the heat, the contrasts between them become clear right away. Popular crypto analyst Will Clemente perfectly highlighted this gap amid the latest shake out.

The fact is that gold has central banks that rush to add to reserves, and stocks are cushioned by pension and sovereign funds that love to compound, but crypto has none of that. The only names associated with it on public markets are the ones that crash at the same time as the coins themselves.

You Might Also Like

Bitcoin dipped to around $110,700 today on a U.S. jobs data mess, but the companies most exposed to it slipped at the same time. Strategy is down 1.47%, BMNR lost more than 5%, Coinbase dropped over 4% and SBET slid almost 7%.

These are supposed to be the closest thing to institutional exposure for digital assets, but during sell-offs, they do not buy — they bleed.

“When sell-off hits”

Today’s situation looked even worse on the derivatives side. In just 24 hours, there were more than $371 million in liquidations, split between $230 million in longs and $141 million in shorts. 

In just the first hour after the report came, a whopping $117 million was gone, showing how easily things can fall apart when there is no deep capital backing it up.

You Might Also Like

Every part of the day brought new sales, and by the end, both the bulls and the bears had lost hundreds of millions. Meanwhile, S&P 500 and Nasdaq renewed all-time highs.

The comparison is simple but hard to ignore. Gold is used by central banks, stocks are used by retirement funds and crypto is used by companies that have the same price chart. When Bitcoin drops, they sell off too, leaving nothing behind to slow the fall.

• There are concerns that stricter privacy rules could hurt The Trade Desk’s main business.

• Super Micro Computer cut its fiscal 2026 guidance by $7 billion, sending its shares south.

• Gartner’s total contract value increased year over year, but not by as much as investors hoped.

• 10 stocks we like better than The Trade Desk ›

August was a good month for the S&P 500. The stock market’s most-followed index finished the period up 1.91%, marking its fourth consecutive month of positive returns and fifth overall positive month of 2025. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good month for all stocks in the index.

Three stocks in particular had a really bad month: The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD), Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI), and Gartner (NYSE: IT). These stocks lost between 25% to 37% of their value in the month.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

^SPX data by YCharts

The reason for the disappointing month varies. The Trade Desk’s revenue growth has slowed (up 19% year over year to $694 million), and its new chief financial officer took over on Aug. 21 after its previous one stepped down after almost 12 years with the company. There are also concerns that stricter privacy rules will hurt the company’s ability to use targeted advertising, its main business proposition.

Super Micro Computer’s fiscal fourth-quarter results weren’t very encouraging, with the company missing both revenue and adjusted earnings per share estimates. It also cut its fiscal 2026 guidance from $40 billion to $33 billion, which discouraged investors, as the company was already trading at a premium.

Gartner met analysts’ estimates for the second quarter, but its total contract value (a key part of its business) increased by a light 4.9% year over year. This led the company to cut its 2025 revenue guidance and note that its business demand could slow down.

Should you invest $1,000 in The Trade Desk right now?

Before you buy stock in The Trade Desk, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and The Trade Desk wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $661,268!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,045,818!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,048% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 184% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 25, 2025

Stefon Walters has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends The Trade Desk. The Motley Fool recommends Gartner. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The market for tokenized equities could expand to nearly $190 trillion within the next 20 years, according to new projections from Galaxy Research.

Galaxy made this projection after it became one of the first public companies to tokenize its stock on the Solana blockchain via Superstate, which specializes in compliant tokenization infrastructure.

Speaking on the move, Alex Thorn, Galaxy’s Head of Research, said:

“Onchain GLXY is real Galaxy Class A Common Stock. If you hold the token, you own common equity in galaxy, the same as if you bought our stock through in your traditional brokerage account. no publicly traded company has ever done this before in the US.”

As of press time, 32,374 Galaxy Class A shares had been issued on Solana, held by 21 token holders, according to Dune Analytics data.

According to the firm, this move illustrates its conviction that tokenization is viable and a potential blueprint for how listed companies may enhance market accessibility.

‘Uniswap moment’

Considering this, the firm modeled bear, base, and bull scenarios to illustrate how blockchain adoption may reshape financial markets once decentralized trading achieves critical mass.

Galaxy describes the tipping point as a “Uniswap moment,” when on-chain trading is widely regarded as fairer, faster, cheaper, and safer than legacy structures. At that stage, traditional centralized exchanges would gradually lose market share to blockchain-based platforms.

The Crypto Investor Blueprint: A 5-Day Course On Bagholding, Insider Front-Runs, and Missing Alpha

Nice Your first lesson is on the way.

Please add [email protected] to your email whitelist.

In its near-term outlook, Galaxy expects tokenized equities to represent between 0.7% and 4.6% of US market capitalization within the first two years of adoption—equivalent to $0.5 trillion to $3.3 trillion.

Under a bullish 10-year scenario, tokenized shares could capture 40% of the market, worth almost $50 trillion.

Meanwhile, the forecasts diverge further over two decades. A bear case sees tokenization reaching 12% of the US equity market, or $29.5 trillion, while the bull case envisions as much as 78% penetration or an estimated $189.9 trillion.

Interestingly, the firm said trading activities could follow a similar trajectory.

In the most optimistic scenario, Galaxy projects that tokenized equities may account for 93% of all US equity trading volume, fundamentally altering liquidity, settlement times, and investor access.

Mentioned in this article

Coinbase will launch Mag7 + Crypto Equity Index Futures to create the first US-listed futures product that combines traditional equities and crypto exposure, according to a Sept. 2 announcement.

The product will debut on Sept. 22, arriving less than two months after Coinbase began offering CFTC-regulated perpetuals to US customers in July.

The hybrid index tracks 10 equally weighted components: the seven largest US technology companies, known as the “Magnificent Seven,” Coinbase’s own stock, and BlackRock’s Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.

Each component represents 10% of the index, with quarterly rebalancing to maintain equal weightings.

The Magnificent Seven stocks include Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, NVIDIA, Meta, and Tesla. The cryptocurrency exposure is provided through the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) and the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA), offering indirect access to the two largest digital assets by market capitalization.

Product structure

Coinbase positions the product as addressing investor demand for dual exposure to traditional financial instruments and digital assets.

The company stated that no US-listed derivative previously offered access to both equities and cryptocurrencies within a futures product.

The monthly cash-settled contracts represent $1 multiplied by the index value. At an example index price of $3,000, each contract would carry a notional value of $3,000. MarketVector serves as the official index provider for calculation and maintenance.

The launch builds on Coinbase’s derivatives expansion following its July introduction of CFTC-regulated perpetual contracts for US customers.

Those products offer up to 10x leverage with 0.02% fees on major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.

Coinbase frames the equity index futures as marking “the next evolution of our product suite” and paving the way for multi-asset derivatives that broaden access and efficiency for investors.

The company promises to expand availability to retail users in the coming months after the initial launch through partner platforms.

Mentioned in this article

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

South Korean retail traders have continued to favor crypto-related stocks instead of high-profile US tech firms amid growing disappointment with companies like Tesla and the global push for digital assets.

Tesla Loses Ground, Bitmine Gains Momentum

On Monday, Bloomberg reported that Tesla stock has lost ground among South Korea’s retail investors, who ramped up their selling during August in favor of crypto-related equities.

According to the report, the electric carmaker company has seen a $1.8 billion exodus over the past four months, suggesting weakening enthusiasm among one of Tesla’s most loyal global retail investor bases.

A 33-year-old retail trader told the news media outlet that the company has been unable “to win people’s hearts” as it has “failed to lead with its own AI narrative.” The investor, who first bought the stock in 2019, sold out earlier this year to focus on equities that currently have more upside.

Bloomberg calculations of depository data revealed that while the company remains the top foreign stock among South Korean retail traders, individual investors sold approximately $657 million of Tesla stock in August, recording the company’s largest outflows since 2019.

In contrast, retail traders in South Korea favored more volatile bets in August, like crypto-related stocks. During this period, investors poured $253 million into Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc., which is seen as a proxy for Ethereum (ETH).

As reported by Bitcoinist, South Korean investors purchased $259 million worth of Bitmine stock in July, Bloomberg previously highlighted. According to Korea Securities Depository data, this made the company the most purchased foreign security stock.

Korean Investors Pour Millions Into Crypto Stocks

Data from the Korean Center for International Finance (KCIF) showed that the percentage of crypto-linked equities in the top 50 net-bought stocks by local retail investors increased from 8.5% in January to 36.5% in June before dropping to 31.4% in July.

Citing a report from 10x Research, The Korea Times highlighted that individuals have purchased over $12 billion worth of crypto-related stock in 2025, with Bitmine, Circle Internet Group, and Coinbase leading the sector.

Retail investors’ buying spree reportedly intensified last month, as traders poured $426 million into Bitmine, $226 million into Circle, and $183 million into Coinbase. This marks a shift from the leading trend over the past few years, when Korean retail investors poured into US tech giants.

“Korean investors are pouring billions into crypto stocks, reshaping global flows in ways Wall Street can no longer ignore,” the report affirms. Adding that “the push has been amplified by U.S. and Korean stablecoin legislation, creating a powerful backdrop for this surge in capital.”

Amid the global push for digital assets regulation, the institutionalization of won-pegged stablecoins gained significant attention, with President Lee Jae-myung vowing to address it alongside the status of crypto-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) during his electoral campaign.

Since then, multiple bills related to the issuance and distribution of KRW-pegged stablecoins have been introduced in South Korea’s National Assembly. Nonetheless, the industry has expressed concerns about the disconnect between the industry and South Korean regulators.

On September 1, the nominee for Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Lee Won-eun stated that digital assets “differ from traditional financial products like deposits and securities in that they lack intrinsic value.”

In his written response to the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee, Lee also expressed a negative stance on specific policies related to cryptocurrencies, including whether to allow investment in virtual assets through pension and retirement accounts. This raised concerns among multiple industry players that a one-sided regulatory policy may continue.

Ethereum (ETH) trades $4,366 in the one-week chart. Source: ETHUSDT on TradingView

Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.