Good morning. Here’s what’s happening:

Prices:

CoinDesk Market Index (CMIP)

837.58

+12.1 ▲ 1.5%

Bitcoin (BTC)

$16,820

+107.3 ▲ 0.6%

Ethereum (ETH)

$1,253

+28.2 ▲ 2.3%

S&P 500 daily close

3,852.97

+28.8 ▲ 0.8%

Gold

$1,862

+9.0 ▲ 0.5%

Treasury Yield 10 Years

3.71%

▼ 0.1

BTC/ETH prices per CoinDesk Indices; gold is COMEX spot price. Prices as of about 4 p.m. ET

Insights: Square Enix has committed to investing in Web3, but the Japanese gaming company faces an uphill struggle given the country’s strict regulations about anything that resembles gambling.

Prices

Favorable Economic Conditions Make for a Flat Market

By Sam Reynolds

By all accounts, the Fed’s moves to curb inflation are working, and that’s been good for crypto.

Bitcoin began the day in Asia fairly flat, up 1.2%, trading at $16,851 according to CoinDesk pricing data. Ethereum was up 3.46%, coming in at $1,254.

But the question is, has inflation peaked? Will the Fed ease off on raising interest rates?

Recently released minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee aren’t painting a clear picture of what’s next. The Fed says that price increases are stubborn, saying it “proves to be more persistent than anticipated”, while raising interest rates another half a percentage point.

A smaller increase than the three-quarter of a percentage point increases of before — indicative of inflation that has peaked — but still another rate hike.

“Participants generally observed that a restrictive policy…