8-22-2025
Powell signals September rate cut and markets surge, China explores offshore yuan stablecoin via Hong Kong, US House slips CBDC ban into defense bill, BitChat ecosystem rapidly expands, and Philippines proposes a 10,000 BTC strategic reserve.
Markets lit up after Jerome Powell hinted that the Fed might cut rates in September. It’s not a guarantee, but the tone has shifted. The Fed's new forecast showed slightly lower inflation expectations, and Powell used words like “balanced risks.” That’s code for, “We’re close to being done.” Everyone read the room the same way: dovish.
China might go offshore with its stablecoin strategy. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority and a team from the People’s Bank of China are reportedly working on a yuan-backed stablecoin issued outside the mainland. Why? Because capital controls are still tight inside the wall. If they can issue yuan offshore, backed by state assets but operated through compliant fintech rails, they get to test-drive global yuan liquidity without losing grip domestically. That’s smart. And if it works, you’ll see more moves like this across Southeast Asia and the Gulf.
Meanwhile, something slipped into the U.S. defense bill that nobody’s talking about. House Republicans added language that would ban the Fed from issuing a CBDC without explicit approval from Congress. It’s buried deep in the NDAA, and it hasn’t hit the Senate yet but it’s there. The U.S. might not ever be able to launch a CBDC, they're laying the political groundwork right now.
BitChat is sprinting. What started as a Bluetooth, Meshnet-based messenger now have fans from all over building out ancillary tools that hook into it. Coolr.chat and bitchat-world-view.vercel.app now exist. The first one is a simple way to hook into Bitchat from a web browser and the second one is the same but has a map that shows you where geohashed chats are occurring. This is going way too fast and I'm here for it.
Then there’s the Philippines. Lawmakers there proposed that the central bank or treasury accumulate 10,000 BTC as a sovereign reserve. They’re citing inflation risk, monetary sovereignty, and reserve diversification as reasons. They know the dollar game has a clock on it. And even if this bill doesn’t pass today, the seed is planted. Someone in government is thinking strategically about Bitcoin, not just speculatively.
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