Mars Morning News | The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates on Wednesday, S&P Global assigns a "B-" credit rating to Strategy

S&P Global Assigns Strategy a "B-" Credit Rating, Categorizes as Junk Bond but Outlook Remains Stable

On October 28, S&P Global Ratings assigned the largest Bitcoin treasury company, Strategy, a "B-" credit rating, placing it in the speculative, non-investment grade (commonly referred to as "junk bond") category—while also noting that the outlook for this Bitcoin treasury company remains stable. In a report released Monday, S&P stated: "We believe that Strategy's high Bitcoin concentration, single business structure, weak risk-adjusted capital strength, and insufficient dollar liquidity are all weaknesses in its credit profile." Reportedly, Strategy has accumulated a reserve of 640,808 Bitcoins through equity and debt financing. S&P pointed out that the stable rating outlook assumes the company will prudently manage convertible bond maturity risks and maintain preferred stock dividend payments, which may require further debt issuance. S&P Global also emphasized that Strategy faces "inherent currency mismatch risk"—all its debt is denominated in US dollars, while most dollar reserves are used to support the company's software business, which is currently roughly breakeven in terms of revenue and cash flow.

Federal Reserve Expected to Cut Rates on Wednesday, but Vote May Be "Three-Way Split"

The Federal Reserve is expected to lower the federal funds rate target range by 25 basis points to 3.75%–4% on Wednesday. However, Generali Investments anticipates that policymakers' votes may be "three-way split," with one dissenter supporting a larger 50 basis point cut and possibly some dissenters supporting keeping rates unchanged. The institution expects the Fed to cut rates again in December and make a final cut in the first quarter of 2026.

Data: $328 Million Liquidated Across the Network in the Past 24 Hours; $185 Million Longs, $143 Million Shorts

According to Coinglass data, $328 million was liquidated across the network in the past 24 hours (UTC+8), with $185 million in long positions and $143 million in short positions. Among them, Bitcoin long liquidations amounted to $25.0213 million (UTC+8), Bitcoin short liquidations $37.3644 million (UTC+8), Ethereum long liquidations $61.5531 million (UTC+8), and Ethereum short liquidations $48.4098 million (UTC+8). In addition, in the past 24 hours (UTC+8), a total of 123,920 people were liquidated globally, with the largest single liquidation occurring on Hyperliquid - BTC-USD, valued at $9.7725 million (UTC+8).

Hong Kong SFC Launches Tender for Virtual Asset Trading Monitoring System

According to Hong Kong Economic Times, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has launched a tender for a virtual asset trading monitoring system, aiming to continuously upgrade regulatory capabilities. The winning institution is expected to be determined in the first half of 2026 to strengthen the detection of anomalies in virtual asset trading.

US Congressman to Propose Legislation Banning President, Family, Congress Members, and All Elected Officials from Trading Cryptocurrency or Stocks

On October 28, US Congressman Ro Khanna will propose legislation to ban the President, their family, members of Congress, and all elected officials from trading cryptocurrency or stocks.

Citi Partners with Coinbase to Explore Stablecoin Payment Solutions

According to Cryptobriefing, major US bank Citi has announced a partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase to jointly explore stablecoin payment solutions for institutional clients. The collaboration aims to leverage stablecoins to enhance cross-border and corporate payment systems and improve transaction efficiency.

Institution: Fed Rate Cut This Week Will Be Seen as a "Low-Risk" Move

On October 28, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell described last month's 25 basis point rate cut as a risk management measure—a low-risk operation aimed at avoiding undue drag on the economy. Renaissance Macro Chief Economist Neil Dutta pointed out that if another 25 basis point cut is made this week (UTC+8), its risk controllability will be similar. Dutta analyzed: "The persistent accumulation of weakness in the labor market provides reason to expect inflation to cool accordingly." He added that layoff plans announced by several large companies confirm that the employment environment is becoming increasingly challenging for workers. Meanwhile, Dutta said that in-depth research on price data shows that if tariff factors are excluded, core inflation should be close to the Fed's target.

Lighter Responds to "HYPE Abnormal Order Book Data": Caused by Out-of-Control Bot, No Liquidations Triggered, No On-Chain Data Modified

On October 28, in response to abnormal price fluctuations in the HYPE market early this morning, Lighter stated on X: "An out-of-control bot flooded the HYPE order book with large orders, but aside from that, no forced liquidations or other negative impacts occurred. The trade was executed at an extremely high price with very low volume, leaving a long upper shadow that caused chart scaling issues, so the data has been removed from the front-end interface. It is important to emphasize that on-chain data has not been modified and cannot be modified; users can view it on the block explorer. Since we operate the main front-end interface, we present the chart in the way most helpful to traders; other front-ends built on Lighter can choose different display methods."

ZEC Up 6x in a Month: What Is Driving This Frenzy?

Zcash (ZEC) has seen a significant price surge due to the November halving and increased attention on privacy assets, rising over 100% in 30 days (UTC+8) and surpassing its 2021 high. The market believes the rally is driven by halving expectations, heated discussions on privacy, and endorsements from well-known investors, but its sustainability is questionable due to limited fundamental growth and a high degree of speculation.

Messari Researcher: Trading US Stocks on Perp DEX Could Be the Next Blue Ocean

The potential of stock perpetual contracts in on-chain markets has yet to be fully realized, with current demand remaining weak, mainly due to audience mismatch and infrastructure limitations. Data from the Ostium platform shows that trading volume for stock perpetual contracts is far lower than that for crypto perpetual contracts. Hyperliquid's HIP-3 upgrade may provide development opportunities for stock perpetual contracts, but widespread adoption will still take time.