The Fed just made its first rate cut in years, slashing 50 basis points off interest rates—but what does this mean for the crypto markets? With Bitcoin lagging behind traditional finance, and the looming U.S. elections, uncertainty is growing.

In this episode, Quinn Thompson of Lekker Capital and Travis Kling of Ikigai Asset Management break down the major factors influencing the markets: from Bitcoin’s sluggish summer and the unwinding of the Japan yen carry trade, to why the 2024 elections could be a pivotal moment for crypto. Are these the catalysts we’ve been waiting for, or should we brace for more turbulence ahead?

Also, they cover which assets could benefit the most under a Trump administration, and why they believe SOL could have a negative catalyst in the near future.

Show highlights:

Why the Fed cut rates by 50 basis points and what the chances of a recession are in the U.S.
Why Bitcoin has underperformed the broader TradFi markets this summer
The risks of the unwinding of the Japan carry trade for crypto
How the election results might matter differently for different sectors of the industry
Whether rate cuts affect stablecoin yields in DeFi
How the approval of Bitcoin ETF options will affect the price of BTC
Whether Bitcoin miners will be affected by AI’s need for computing power
Ether’s lagging performance this year and what might be a huge catalyst for ETH
How SOL will manage through the huge unlock in early 2025
What Quinn and Travis think about investing in memecoins
How the rise of Base will impact Coinbase

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

Thank you to our sponsors!

Guests:

Quinn Thompson, CIO of Lekker Capital
Travis Kling, Founder and CIO of Ikigai Asset Management
Previous appearance on Unchained: With the Merge, Will Ethereum Take Over Bitcoin’s Title as Digital Gold

Links

Rate cuts

ETH performance and L2s:

Unchained:
SOL on Course to Flip ETH, Says Multicoin Capital’s Kyle Samani
Ether Has Been a Much Worse Investment Than Both Gold and Silver So Far This Year
Are L2s 'Parasitic'? Analysis Shows Ethereum Only Gets a Tiny Percentage of Fees
Alex Kruger’s tweet: “Ironically $SOLETH is barely up in 2024”

Bitcoin ETF options:

CoinDesk: BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Options to Set Stage for GameStop-Like 'Gamma Squeeze' Rally, Bitwise Predicts

Mining and AI:

TIME: Why So Many Bitcoin Mining Companies Are Pivoting to AI

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro
02:09 Fed rate cut and recession chances
12:34 Bitcoin’s underperformance this summer
14:56 Risks of Japan carry trade unwinding
21:3 Election impacts on crypto sectors
38:00 Rate cuts and DeFi stablecoin yields
43:00 Bitcoin ETF options
49:31 AI’s impact on Bitcoin miners
54:38 Ether’s lagging performance and future catalysts
1:03:19 SOL’s 2025 unlock concerns
1:10:39 Investing in memecoins
1:18:15 Base’s rise and Coinbase impact

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