Gate Daily (September 18): The Federal Reserve (FED) cuts interest rates by 25 basis points; CME announces the launch of SOL and XRP futures-linked options in October.

Bitcoin (BTC) has experienced a short-term rebound, rising to around $116,340. The Federal Reserve (FED) announced a 25 basis point rate cut, leading to a strong market reaction, with the three major U.S. stock indices quickly plummeting after a brief surge, and the dollar index also plunging. The statement mentioned that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group will launch options linked to Solana (SOL) and Ripple (XRP) futures on October 13. Following the tokenomics reforms and the launch of W reserves, the Wormhole Token W has surged.

Today's Outlook

1. Australia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for August was previously 4.2%.

2. The official bank interest rate in the UK was previously 4.00%.

3. The seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment benefits in the United States last week (in thousands) (as of 0913) was 263, with the previous value being 263.

4. U.S. President Trump made a state visit to the United Kingdom.

5. The Bank of England announces interest rate decision and meeting minutes.

macroeconomic events & crypto hotspots

1. The Federal Reserve (FED) announced a 25 basis point rate cut, lowering the federal funds rate from 4.25%-4.50% to 4.00%-4.25%, in line with market expectations. Following the FED's rate decision announcement, the market reacted sharply, with the three major U.S. stock indices quickly soaring before plummeting, and the dollar index dropping sharply to a new low not seen since 2025, before rebounding significantly. The market's drastic fluctuations are closely related to the monetary policy press conference held by FED Chairman Powell shortly thereafter. He stated that a 50 basis point cut did not receive broad support and that there was no need to adjust rates quickly, describing today's action as a risk management-style rate cut. This implies that the FED will not enter a sustained rate cut cycle. Powell reiterated that the FED is firmly committed to maintaining its independence. Currently, there is no indication that market participants are factoring in any risks to the FED's independence.

2. According to a statement on September 17, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group announced that it will launch options linked to Solana (SOL) and Ripple (XRP) futures on October 13. According to the company, the options products will be offered in standard and micro contract forms for both tokens, with expiration dates available every week throughout the year. The exchange stated that these contracts are designed to meet the growing demand from institutional and professional traders for tools outside of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Unlike futures products (which obligate traders to buy or sell at a fixed price on a specific future date), options products give investors the right, but not the obligation, to enter into these contracts. This flexibility allows market participants to hedge downside risks or better capitalize on price fluctuations.

3. Wormhole is an interoperability protocol that facilitates asset transfers between blockchains. It announced updates to its native Wormhole tokenomics, including token reserves and providing more rewards for stakers. These changes may affect the governance of the protocol, as staked Wormhole tokens will allocate voting rights to representatives. According to the announcement on September 17, there will be three major changes to the Wormhole token: W reserves funded by protocol fees and revenue, a 4% basic staking yield (offering higher rewards to active ecosystem participants), and a shift from bulk unlocks to unlocking every two weeks. The protocol stated, "The goal of Wormhole contributors is to significantly increase the volume of asset transfers and messaging supported by Wormhole in the next 1-2 years." Wormhole indicated that as adoption increases and revenue flows back, more tokens will be locked. The token debuted with a trading price of $1.66 but plummeted to $0.54 in about 10 trading days. On September 17, after the revision of the tokenomics, the token price rose by over 6.3%.

Market Trend

1. Latest Bitcoin news: $BTC rebounded after The Federal Reserve (FED) announced a rate cut, rising to around $116,340, with liquidations of $56.72 million in the past 24 hours, mainly from long positions;

2. The U.S. stock market fluctuated and closed lower on September 17, with The Federal Reserve (FED) cutting interest rates by 1 basis point (0.25 percentage points) as expected, and Chairman Powell indicating a weak labor market. The S&P 500 index fell by 6.41 points, a decrease of 0.1%, to 6,600.35 points; the Nasdaq Composite index dropped 72.63 points, a decline of 0.3%, to 22,261.33 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 260.42 points, an increase of 0.6%, to 46,018.32 points. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index decreased by 0.3%, retreating from its all-time high.

(Source: Gate)

3. In the Gate BTC/USDT liquidation map, with the current 116,357.50 USDT as a reference, if it drops to around 114,395 USD, the cumulative liquidation amount for long positions exceeds 1.02 billion USD; if it rises to around 117,419 USD, the cumulative liquidation amount for short positions exceeds 762 million USD. The liquidation amount for shorts is significantly lower than that for longs, so it is advisable to reasonably control the leverage ratio to avoid triggering large-scale liquidations during market fluctuations.

(Source: Coinglass)

4. In the past 24 hours, BTC spot inflow was 2.54 billion USD, outflow was 2.56 billion USD, with a net outflow of 0.02 billion USD.

(Source: CoinGlass)

5. In the past 24 hours, contracts such as $ETH, $DOGE, $XRP, $ENA, and $1000PEPE have seen net outflows, indicating trading opportunities.

News Updates

1. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority cut interest rates by 25 basis points.

2. Cryptocurrency platform Bullish reported second-quarter profits that exceeded Wall Street expectations.

3. Market prediction: Kalshi collaborates with Solana to promote "on-chain innovation".

4. The publicly listed company Thumzup Media revealed the purchase of 7.5 million DOGE, worth approximately 2 million dollars.

5. DeFi Development increased approximately 14.6 million USD in SOL, with a total holding size close to 500 million USD.

6. Vitalik: Staking means defending the blockchain, and there will inevitably be resistance when exiting.

7. The U.S. SEC approves Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund and CBOE Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index-linked options.

8. The SEC has approved general listing standards to expedite the approval of cryptocurrency ETFs.

9. Federal Reserve's Mouthpiece: The Federal Reserve has begun a mild rate-cutting cycle, with significant divergence in future decision-making.

10. The Federal Reserve (FED) cut interest rates by 25 basis points, and Powell stated that this is a risk management rate cut.

11. OpenVPP has been accused of false advertising in collaboration with the U.S. government, SEC commissioner clarifies that they did not participate.

X KOL Selected Insights

Phyrex Ni (@Phyrex_Ni): "Today's task is not easy to write, the Federal Reserve's interest rate meeting and dot plot have indeed had a significant impact on the market. After the data was released, both the US stock market and BTC experienced a nearly one-hour decline, which only slightly eased and rebounded towards the end of Powell's speech. However, the rebound has not yet returned to today's highs, indicating that investors are still quite worried about the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts, mainly concerning the economy, particularly that there won't be an economic downturn. However, today is not without good news; the next two meetings are very likely to result in two consecutive interest rate cuts, which reduces the risk of economic downturn for the market. For the Federal Reserve, this can be considered a defensive interest rate cut, but the magnitude of this cut is too far from what the market or Trump’s faction has conveyed to the market. This has also led to Trump's devastating loss in the first round against Powell's conservative faction."

"This time, apart from Milan clearly being the core of Trump, executing Trump's orders, other Federal Reserve officials feel more united. Even Waller and Bowman have rationally chosen 25 basis points this time, at most just playing with thoughts on the dot plot, which also illustrates Milan's awkward position. However, Powell's term is until May 2026, and the new Federal Reserve Chair will take office in April. If we count, there are still five FOMC meetings this year in October, December, and next year in January, March, and April. Having more than three rate cuts out of these five would be quite good; the actual impact won't be very large. Of course, Trump will definitely be very angry, very angry."

"Looking back at Bitcoin's data, although today is more critical and the price fluctuations are larger, the actual turnover rate has decreased, indicating that most investors are still focusing on the results of the interest rate meeting and are waiting for the outcome to appear. This is also why I say not to bet on the result, but rather to determine your investment direction based on the result. The outcome this time falls within the high probability of my predictions, so I am following my strategy and not making any moves. Because I plan to see what kind of counterattack Trump will have, and my 20% long position is still held. It is a good opportunity to test the waters, and based on the performance of the US stock market, it is quite stable, with only slight declines until the market closed. Tomorrow, I will continue to observe the reactions of the Asian market."