Happy Friday! Binance Bytes is an initiative by the Research team to provide a quick round-up of the week.
Highlights 🧵:
1/ It was an eventful week for macroeconomic data with the release of the U.S. consumer price index (“CPI") and the Federal Reserve’s dot plot, which represents each Fed official’s interest rate projections. May's inflation data came in below expectations, with the CPI up 3.3% year-on-year compared to expectations of 3.4%. This triggered a rally in risk assets like stocks and crypto, although the effect on crypto appeared to be short-lived.
2/ The Fed dot plot revealed the latest interest rate forecasts, indicating a median estimate of just one rate cut this year, down from three projected in March. Nonetheless, traders remain relatively optimistic, pricing in two rate cuts this year, with the first expected in September.
3/ In other news, BNB Chain and Binance Labs have jointly announced the launch of “BNB Incubation Alliance”, which aims to support early-stage blockchain projects. Winning projects will be fast tracked into BNB Chain's "Most Valuable Builder" program, receive BNB chain grants, and gain the chance to receive investment opportunities from Binance Labs.
4/ Tether’s investment arm expects to invest more than US$1B in deals over the next year, with a focus on financial infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and biotech.