IRS Files $44 Billion in Claims Against FTX, Coinbase Sparks Pepe Controversy

This morning’s initial jobless claims came in at 264k vs. 245k expected, marking the highest level since October of 2021, further supporting the notion that the Federal Reserve is seeing what they need to pause rate hikes going forward. Equity indices are mixed following this morning’s data, with the S&P 500 declining 0.23% and the Nasdaq 100 rising 0.26%. Crypto markets are underperforming compared to equities, with BTC (-1.51%) and ETH (-1.90%) hovering around recent lows. Crypto’s underperformance to equities has been notable over the past 30 days, with BTC falling over 10% compared to ^SPX. Despite recent underperformance, it’s important to note that BTC is still up 55% YTD compared to SPX.