- Oil prices add to market pressure: WTI crude climbed above $82 a barrel, raising fresh inflation concerns and weighing on risk assets as Treasury yields moved higher.
- U.S. retail sales contract in July: Retail sales declined 0.6% last month, according to newly released government data. Economists had expected a 0.1% increase, while June sales had risen 0.2%.
- Ex-auto sales also miss estimates: Retail sales excluding automobiles fell 0.3% in July, compared with forecasts for a 0.2% increase. The figure followed a 0.2% decline in June.
Markets had largely anticipated a weaker retail sales report because major retailers already have access to credit card spending data ahead of the government release. As a result, the initial market response was limited.
Nevertheless, the weaker consumer spending figures provide another indication that the Federal Reserve has little reason to rush into tighter monetary policy.
Payward Posts Higher Q2 Revenue
Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, reported $508 million in adjusted revenue for the second quarter, a 17% increase from the same period last year.
Adjusted EBITDA fell 71% year over year to $23 million, compared with $80 million in Q2 2025.
The number of funded accounts rose 42% to 6.6 million, while assets on the platform reached $40 billion. Payward also said deposits in its DeFi Earn Bitcoin Vault had grown to about $400 million.
The company said weaker spot trading volumes across the crypto sector were offset by stronger activity in futures, equities and tokenized equities. Kraken also increased its share of the spot market for a third straight quarter.
U.S. Debt Nears $40 Trillion
U.S. government debt has climbed to nearly $39.91 trillion, according to the U.S. Debt Clock. That leaves less than $100 billion before the national debt reaches the $40 trillion milestone.
30-Year Treasury Yield Reaches Highest Level Since 2001
A $25 billion auction of 30-year Treasury bonds on Thursday produced a yield of 5.22%, according to the Financial Times.
The yield marked the highest level for the maturity since August 2001, when it reached 5.52%.
Strive, Strategy Preferred Shares Continue Recovery
Strive’s perpetual preferred stock SATA closed at $99.65, marking its highest finish since June 18, when it traded near its $100 par value. The stock had previously dropped to $79 before recovering roughly 25%.
Strategy’s STRC preferred shares also finished above $95, reaching their strongest closing price since June 12. The stock is now 34% above its $71 low.
Cronos Gains on Tokenized Equities Rollout
Cronos (CRO), the native cryptocurrency of the Cronos blockchain and Crypto.com ecosystem, rose nearly 5% to around 5 cents since midnight UTC.
The gain marked its strongest performance since July 16, when CRO advanced 10%.
The latest rally came after Crypto.com introduced tokenized equities, giving users access to U.S. stocks through its app. The platform offers exposure to 1,500 stocks and funds, with purchases starting at $1.
Bitcoin Holds Key $62,800 Support
Bitcoin is trading around $62,800, a level that coincides with the lower boundary of the Ichimoku cloud on technical charts.
A move below this area could push BTC beneath the cloud, which is generally interpreted as a bearish signal.
The Ichimoku cloud is a technical indicator developed by Japanese journalist Goichi Hosoda. It is used to identify market trends, momentum, support and resistance, while moves through the cloud can signal potential trend reversals.
Gemini Shares Slide 5%
Gemini shares dropped 5% in Friday’s premarket session after its second-quarter results showed continued weakness in its main exchange business.
The company’s revenue increased 37% to $45.5 million, helped by its services operations, while exchange revenue plunged 38%. Gemini reported a net loss of $107.7 million.
Bitcoin Falls Below $63,000
Bitcoin slipped under $63,000 as higher crude prices and rising Treasury yields added pressure to risk assets.
WTI crude traded above $82 a barrel, while the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield climbed to 4.660%.
