The Federal Reserve is raising rates, yet gold holds steady and crypto surges. The old “rate-hike is bearish” framework has failed.
This is a reset of the financial order, and some capital is embracing gold and crypto assets, looking for value outside of the U.S. dollar—this is the de-dollarization narrative the market is trading.
Before the rate hikes, I also said that once the bearish news is priced in, funds will flow into the crypto space, because everyone can clearly see that U.S. Treasury asset yields and dollar credit can no longer serve as the trading benchmark for gold. The crypto market has its own distinct行情.
Gold follows gold, crypto follows crypto, and the stock market follows stocks—I believe this is what a normal financial ecosystem should look like.
On Friday, US stock index futures: the Nasdaq Composite index was down 0.1% during the session, the S&P 500 index fell 0.2%, gold rose 0.2% to $4,360 per ounce, and Brent crude oil fell 0.01% to $99.9 per barrel;
The U.S. Federal Reserve on Thursday raised interest rates by 25 basis points, lifting the benchmark rate to 3.75%-4.00%. This was the first rate hike since July 2023 and was in line with market expectations.
Goldman Sachs: expects a second 25-basis-point rate hike in October. Citigroup: expects the Federal Reserve to resume rate cuts in June 2027.
Friday US stock indexes: the Nasdaq index rose 1% during the session, the S&P 500 rose 0.9%, gold rose 1.5% to $4,380 per ounce, and Brent crude fell 3% to $104.3 per barrel.
The US August CPI year-on-year was 3.4%, matching the expected 3.4% and unchanged from the previous value of 3.4%. The August core CPI year-on-year was 2.4%, matching the expected 2.4% and lower than the previous value of 2.5%. Market expectations have raised the probability of a Federal Reserve rate hike next week to 90%.
Should there be a rate hike in September? After the CPI is released, the answer has become clearer and clearer:
Market expectations for a rate hike in September have been pushed directly to around 90%.
What’s even more extreme is that the market now has fully priced in that the Federal Reserve will raise rates one more time before the end of the year.
For crypto in the short term, this is definitely not a comfortable macro environment.
Because as rate-hike expectations continue to heat up, it means there is further upward pressure on the US dollar and US Treasury yields, and the valuations of risk assets will also be suppressed.
But I think the market has already priced in so many rate-hike expectations in advance—when the real decision comes, how much of an expectation gap is still left?
If later on the US dollar and US Treasury yields keep rising, the pressure on crypto will be fairly obvious.
But if rate-hike expectations have already been fully priced and the subsequent data does not keep worsening, the market may instead see an expectation reset.
So what’s most taboo right now is seeing a 90% rate-hike probability and simply concluding that crypto must definitely fall.
Markets never trade the news itself,
but the difference between the news and expectations.
The three most common psychological traps in investing:
Long-term investing: when it goes up, you ride the roller coaster; when it drops, you comfort yourself with “sticking to the long term.” After being stuck, you become even more convinced.
Short-term trading: you sell too early and “sell too high” after making a little profit; you cut losses quickly after a small loss. But if you can’t bring yourself to stop the loss, you then announce you’ve decided to switch to long-term investing.
Staying in cash: every day you feel like you missed out on “a hundred million.” The moment you can’t resist and you jump in, you immediately experience the first two.
After you’ve stayed too long in a big city, you can’t go back home anymore. People who’ve been drifting for too long eventually become rootless.
I used to not understand those people who only return to their hometown every few years, and when they do, they just stay there for a few hurried days. Now I understand: at first it’s because of survival or development—you have no time to go back, and you don’t want to. Later, you put down roots outside. From time to time you still feel homesick, but then you realize you truly can’t go back anymore.
Your hometown isn’t just somewhere you can’t live physically; mentally, too, that sense of belonging and identification gradually disappears. Especially for people who only go back once every few years—the changes and transformations of their hometown bring an especially strong feeling. It’s like a friend you haven’t seen in a long time. In your memories, they were always the same. After several years, you realize they’ve gotten older, put on weight—or grown thinner.
In the same way that childhood playmates become the most familiar strangers, your hometown becomes one too. Only the memories from childhood are beautiful. As you grow up, you drift further and further apart, and you no longer share a common language.
Why is it the hardest to hold cash in your account when the market is rising?
After years of trading, I’ve found being in cash doesn’t feel easy.
When the market is falling, people holding coins feel bad; when the market is rising, people holding stablecoins also feel bad, because every day you’re watching others make money.
I used to think keeping funds idle was a waste.
Whenever BTC goes up, I’d rush to buy with the last bit of cash; when altcoins rally again, I’d hate myself for not having enough position. And when a real sharp drop finally comes, my account is full of chips, but I have no ammunition. I can only cut losses from the positions I least want to sell in order to get cash.
Later I realized cash isn’t really “not participating.” It’s like a call option without an expiration date. It doesn’t generate unrealized gains, but it gives you optionality: when the market gets out of control, you’re not forced to sell; when there’s a panic sell-off, you can act; and if your judgment is wrong, you still have room to adjust.
Of course, staying 100% in cash long-term also means missing out on the trend.
The key isn’t to always be in cash—it’s to never corner yourself into only one choice. Keep position size with breathing room, so your judgment won’t be held hostage by price.
In a bull market, the most expensive thing isn’t missing a segment of the rally—it’s, in order to avoid missing out, buying up all future opportunities at once.
Remember: cash looks like it earns nothing, yet when others are forced to liquidate their positions, it allows you to still have choices. True trading safety doesn’t come from being fully invested during an uptrend—it comes from having room to move both ways.
Don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t eat junk food, don’t do drugs, don’t get tattoos, don’t associate with dishonest people, don’t make impulse purchases, don’t watch content that has no nutritional value, and don’t pay attention to gossiping influencers.
If the stop doing list is clear enough, you’ll live better.
On Wednesday, US stock index futures: the Nasdaq Composite index fell 0.25% intraday, and the S&P 500 index fell 0.27%. Gold rose 1.3% to $4,410 per ounce, while Brent crude oil rose 2.8% to $100.6 per barrel.
On Wednesday, US ADP employment count was 12,000, slightly higher than the prior reading of 11,750. The probability of the Federal Reserve raising rates in September reached 60.4%.
$BTC #布伦特原油突破100美元 The CLARITY Act cleared the initial push on September 15, and 60 votes were the key
In a bull market, investors' tolerance for some uncertainty and potential risks faced by companies is extremely high. As long as you have some stories and concepts you can present, and make speculators feel there's room for imagination, then large amounts of risk-on capital can pull up stock prices and drive them higher.
But markets outside of bull periods account for 90% or even 95% of market time. In this phase, capital's selection of targets is very strict: it must meet absolute safety, certainty, provide solid shareholder returns, and offer expected returns that can be clearly calculated in real terms. Only those types of stocks and instruments can earn capital's favor, helping preserve capital during calm markets and even bear markets.
The transition between bull and bear markets is, in hindsight, very clear. Indeed, a small number of outstanding investors can predict the bull-to-bear transition, freely switch between the two styles, and thrive—achieving very high returns with extremely low drawdowns. For example, George? Druckenmiller—truly a genius among geniuses—managed to do it. In his early years, when his capital base was smaller, his annualized returns were over 40%; over a 30-year trading career, his annualized return was 30%, and he never had a losing year.
For ordinary investors, strict target screening has two benefits: first, after carefully selecting and researching, you can hold positions with peace of mind; second, during 90–95% of the time, you can have a good experience. The only possible downside is that in a frenzy bull market, low-quality targets that don't follow logic may fly around, while your own holdings stay unmoved—or even keep falling—making it harder on the mindset. But for someone like me who hates risk, that's acceptable.
All memes and knockoffs No matter how awesome the narrative is When the tide goes out, it's all just nonsense
Once funding reaches a certain scale What people pursue more is stability and market depth Emotion-driven hype and chasing In the end, it all still has to return to reason
After this wave passes Be sure to clean up these bits of air properly [frown] See whether the main players’ chips in their hands will hold just like you—refusing to sell What is the real big-picture perspective?
Yunfeng Financial, in which Jack Ma indirectly holds shares, has been included in the list of eligible securities under the Stock Connect programs (Northbound trading) between Shanghai-Hong Kong and Shenzhen-Hong Kong. The inclusion takes effect from September 7, 2026. After the inclusion, eligible Mainland Chinese investors may buy and sell the Group’s shares listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange through Mainland securities companies via Shanghai-Hong Kong and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, providing a more convenient channel for Mainland investors to invest in the Group’s shares.
Yunfeng Financial previously disclosed that, in the public market, it had cumulatively purchased 10,000 ETH. The total investment cost (including fees and expenses) was US$44 million. The purchase funds came from the Group’s internal cash reserves, and the purchased ETH is classified as an investment asset in the Group’s financial statements.
Blockchain and the crypto world are now very hard for newcomers to enter
Depositing funds is quite troublesome. First, if you use a bank card for deposits, after about three or four times you'll probably get questioned, or even be asked to make a trip there in person. Ordinary people probably won't touch it again after encountering that once, unless they made more than double the profit.
If you choose small-payment methods like Alipay, the QR code the merchant gives you is likely restricted. You'll have to switch between several merchants, and you’ll also need to provide transaction flow and records. Where would new users get transaction records from?
So you’ll notice that the overall market capitalization hasn’t changed much recently; it’s just shifted from a to b
So the basic situation hasn’t changed — it’s still in-market funds, and all the groups are also familiar faces
Anxiety comes from imagining that the opportunities others have grabbed are ones you could have grabbed too, and feeling like you’ve missed out on so much money.
During a bull market, spend less time on social media. If someone makes you anxious, just block them.
where you have to keep an eye on the road conditions and adjust your speed at any time, especially when going from a highway to a provincial road to a country road,
if you don't adjust your pace, you'll just charge ahead recklessly.
But in trading, if you have the broad road in your heart, then you have the broad road. You can completely imagine that you are always driving on a smooth, open highway,
so even if you encounter a choppy, range-bound market on a rough little road, you can ignore its bumps.
As the saying goes, if you are undefeated in your heart, then you are undefeated under heaven.