Compelling Case for Continuation
Weathering the Storm
Heading into Q1, the key risks identified were: (1) A potential QRA supply shock, as long-term interest rates could surge due to a possible shift in bond issuance towards longer-duration securities, (2) the repricing of interest rate cuts, as the Federal Reserve downplayed expectations regarding the timing and frequency of such cuts, and (3) concerns regarding the dynamics between the expiration of the Reverse Repurchase Agreement (RRP) and the conclusion of Quantitative Tightening (QT) – specifically, if the RRP, a current liquidity source in the market, were to be depleted while QT persisted, this could result in a reduction of bank reserves below the minimum level deemed necessary for the banking system.
In recent weeks, we have successfully navigated these risks, potentially supported by additional inflows from the newly introduced spot ETFs.
As noted last week, the market responded positively to a coupon intensive QRA, indicating that demand for coupons at these levels exceeded expectations. This suggests that the market had effectively anticipated the treasury coupon issuance in advance. Since mid-January, there has been a significant shift in Fed funds futures. They have now largely discounted the previously anticipated aggressive rate ...Reports you may have missed
INITIAL THESIS – SENATE MORE IMPORTANT THAN MANY RECOGNIZE This week, we witnessed what was the first – and potentially final – presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Anticipation for this event was high, with the public initially favoring Trump, as reflected in prediction markets. This preference was largely attributed to Harris's lackluster debate track record. However, the dynamics shifted during the debate itself, with reactions in prediction...
Caution in the Near-term Still Warranted, Q4 Setup Remains Compelling (Core Strategy Rebalance)
THIS WEEK’S ECONOMIC DATA SKEWS TOWARD HARD-LANDING For this week’s note, we will begin by revisiting our market map for the near-term outlook on crypto. Over the past few months, the market has oscillated between expectations of a hard landing, soft landing, and no landing. However, since Powells’s speech at Jackson Hole, market outcomes have narrowed, leaving only the two scenarios furthest to the left—hard landing and soft landing. Both...
LOWER VOLUMES PERSIST Earlier this week, we witnessed approximately $2B in open interest being unwound within a matter of hours—a significant forced deleveraging event for an otherwise uneventful Tuesday, lacking a clear catalyst. In our view, the selloff was largely technical and indicative of the negative seasonality we've been discussing recently. To backtrack, Monday and Tuesday followed a dovish Fed pivot at Jackson Hole, sparking a sharp rally in soft-landing...
WHAT HAPPENED We won't spend time diving deeply into the events of the past few days as most are likely already familiar. In short, concerns about a potential domestic recession were ignited last Friday following a weak jobs report. This caused the dollar, particularly the USDJPY, to decline, triggering an unwinding of the yen carry trade and leading to widespread deleveraging across global markets. During such a global margin call,...
