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According to The Block, TD Cowen analysts have raised the target price for Bitcoin treasury company Strive from $44 to $56, maintaining a "Buy" rating. Analysts Lance Vitanza and Jonnathan Navarrete noted that the amount of Bitcoin purchased by Strive in the past two weeks has exceeded their previous expectations for the entire fourth quarter.The company's Bitcoin holdings increased from 28,000 coins at the end of September to 35,595 coins (worth approximately $2.9 billion), a net increase of nearly 7,600 coins, far exceeding TD Cowen's original estimate of 4,750 coins. Strive has now jumped to fourth place among publicly traded companies in terms of Bitcoin holdings, slightly surpassing MARA. Additionally, Strive plans to expand its preferred stock issuance to 7 million shares (at $90 per share), aiming to raise $630 million to continue increasing its Bitcoin holdings without diluting common stock. The issuance is expected to be completed on October 20.

Barclays expects the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by 25 basis points in December and January, whereas the previous forecast was for a rate hike in December of this year.

The credit default swap (CDS) market shows that the CDS prices of technology companies such as Microsoft, Nvidia, Meta, and Amazon have surged significantly since the fall of 2025, with some even doubling.This indicates that investors are questioning whether the artificial intelligence boom can generate sufficient returns to support large-scale debt investments. The market is concerned that technology companies may face excessive debt burdens, similar to the situation before the 2008 financial crisis.

According to Jinshi Data, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda stated that Japan's core inflation is close to 2%, marking a policy shift, and the central bank's policy has entered a new phase where inflation cannot be allowed to rise further. Due to core inflation being close to 2% and the financial environment remaining accommodative, the Bank of Japan will continue to raise interest rates and adjust its monetary easing policy. The central bank will discuss whether to adjust the assessment of "core inflation close to 2%" at the upcoming meeting.Kazuo Ueda mentioned that the situation in the Middle East, demand for artificial intelligence, and exchange rates will influence the timing of interest rate hikes. The central bank has been monitoring the impact of the weakening yen and the Middle East situation on inflation. He also stated that it is difficult to make a clear statement about Japan's neutral interest rate, and the stability of 2% inflation is becoming increasingly important. The central bank will focus on consolidating the 2% inflation target. Additionally, Ueda noted that the main takeaway from this week's meeting (including the G20) was the communication with other policymakers regarding the impact of the Middle East conflict and demand for artificial intelligence on the global and Japanese economy, and there was nothing heard that deviated from the Bank of Japan's fundamental views. He exchanged opinions with Federal Reserve Chairman Waller but will not disclose specific details; since the meeting in Asheville, he has not contacted U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen.

According to market news, Binance.US is seeking to raise $100 million to expand its cryptocurrency business.

According to The Block, Nasdaq-listed Solana reserve company DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV) announced that it will raise the annual dividend yield of its CHAD preferred stock from 13% to 14%, effective November 2. Based on a par value of $10 per CHAD share, the annual dividend will increase from $1.3 per share to $1.4 per share, paid once every business day, contingent upon the company's board declaring the dividend. The company stated that future funds raised from CHAD issuance will be used to expand its Solana reserves, which generate income through staking and validating node operations.CEO Joseph Onorati stated that raising the dividend yield to 14% will help expand investor participation and grow the scale of CHAD. He noted that the appeal of CHAD lies in providing double-digit dividend income through Nasdaq-listed preferred securities, with daily payouts, while the issuer holds income-generating SOL reserves. The company aims to position CHAD as a leading digital credit tool, enhancing the ability to accumulate SOL, adding value for common stock shareholders, while maintaining prudent capital management.DeFi Development increased its holdings by approximately 22,070 SOL and equivalent assets last week, raising its total holdings to about 2.59 million SOL; the company stated that CHAD reached a new trading price high that week and recently approved a buyback plan to repurchase up to all issued CHAD shares.

Bai Xue, Deputy Director of Research at Dongfang Jincheng, stated that U.S. inflation rebounded significantly in September, with the CPI rising 3.7% year-on-year and the core CPI rising 2.6% year-on-year. The rebound in inflation has strengthened the necessity for the Federal Reserve to continue raising interest rates this year, with an increased probability of holding steady in October and raising rates by 25 basis points in December.

In September, the U.S. CPI rose 3.7% year-on-year and 0.6% month-on-month, while the core CPI increased 2.6% year-on-year and 0.3% month-on-month, all exceeding market expectations. Following the data release, market bets on a 25 basis point rate hike by the Federal Reserve in October rose to about 40%, up from around 20% the previous day.The Federal Reserve just raised rates by 25 basis points last month, marking its first rate hike of 2023. The next rate decision will be announced on October 28, just 6 days before the U.S. midterm elections on November 3. Inflation continues to remain above the Federal Reserve's 2% target, and economic activity remains resilient, providing grounds for further rate hikes.Economists from institutions such as Jefferies and Nationwide believe that there is data support for rate hikes in both October and December. Some analysts also expect that the Federal Reserve may consider the timing of the elections and potential economic vulnerabilities, choosing to delay until December. Historical data shows that the Federal Reserve rarely raises rates in October or November before midterm elections, and the market will be paying attention to Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Walsh's remarks before entering the pre-meeting blackout period.

Driven by the impact of the Iran war, U.S. CPI for September, not seasonally adjusted, rose to 3.7%, further increasing the cost of living pressure on Americans as the midterm elections in November approach. The not seasonally adjusted core CPI year-on-year rate increased from 2.4% in August to 2.6%.After the data was released, U.S. Treasury yields surged, international gold and silver prices plummeted, and the U.S. dollar index rose, while the market increased bets on three more interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve before the end of 2027. The data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics marks the first increase in U.S. inflation rates since May, highlighting that the energy price shocks triggered by the Middle East war continue to affect the world's largest economy.After the outbreak of the war, gasoline and diesel prices soared, then retreated during the summer, but in recent months, as tensions escalated, fuel prices rose again, pushing diesel prices to a historic high. U.S. President Trump has been trying to control the impact of rising energy prices.Polls show that dissatisfied voters may direct their discontent toward the Republican Party in next month's midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress.

Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML has raised its full-year sales forecast for the third consecutive quarter, expecting sales in 2026 to be between 44 billion and 45 billion euros. Net sales in the third quarter rose to 11.66 billion euros.ASML plans to increase the production capacity of its low numerical aperture extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment by 30% next year and stated that it will not be able to fully meet market demand in 2027 and 2028.

BlackRock Investment Institute announced an upgrade in the allocation rating for U.S. Treasuries, ending nearly six years of an underweight position, citing that the potential investment returns have become more attractive after a significant rise in U.S. Treasury yields. At the same time, BlackRock downgraded the rating for U.S. stocks to neutral and increased the allocation of U.S. Treasuries of different maturities, overall preferring short-term bonds.

Bitcoin Treasury Company Strive (ASST) announced the launch of a new class of perpetual preferred stock, SATS, with a fixed dividend rate of 15%. The company plans to issue 5 million shares at a price of $100 per share, raising a total of $500 million.The new shares will have a lower repayment priority than Strive's existing perpetual preferred stock, SATA, which has a floating dividend rate currently at 13%. Like SATA, SATS will pay dividends daily. After the issuance is completed, the company plans to set aside a dividend reserve equivalent to 18 months of SATS dividend payments. The proceeds will be used to purchase Bitcoin, acquire income-generating assets, or repurchase shares.Strive has been continuously increasing its Bitcoin holdings recently. The company purchased 3,311 Bitcoins last week, bringing its total holdings to 32,773 Bitcoins, valued at approximately $2.7 billion at current prices, compared to less than 20,000 Bitcoins three months ago. Unlike most Bitcoin treasury companies, including larger peers like Strategy, Strive has been able to significantly expand its Bitcoin holdings in recent weeks.

Federal Reserve's Williams stated that another rate hike this year is appropriate.

According to Bloomberg, European venture capital firm Sprints has completed the fundraising for its fifth fund, totaling 725 million euros (approximately 810 million dollars). Henrik Persson, co-founder and managing partner of the firm, stated that the fundraising took about a year, and more than half of the funds have already been deployed for investments in new companies and the existing portfolio, with investors including endowment funds, foundations, pension funds, and family offices.Sprints made early investments in Revolut and is the largest shareholder of the second-hand trading app Vinted, as well as investing in Flightradar24 and payment company Checkout.com. Its invested AI customer service company Fin was acquired by Salesforce this year for 3.6 billion dollars. Persson mentioned that the firm has not invested in any foundational AI companies, as most of these companies have not yet developed a business model.

The IMF World Economic Outlook report predicts that the global real GDP growth rate will be 3.1% in 2026, up from the July forecast of 3%, as investments in artificial intelligence have alleviated the energy price shocks in major economies.The forecast for the global economic growth rate in 2027 is 3.4%, unchanged from the July forecast.

SWI Group announced the raising of approximately 900 million dollars in funding to expand its AI and data center business. The company has taken control of the cryptocurrency mining company Genesis Digital Assets, which originally belonged to FTX, and will continue to advance its transformation.

Investment bank StoneX has raised the target price for the tokenization platform Securitize from $12 to $18, an increase of 50%, while maintaining the buy rating given by analyst Mark Palmer. This adjustment comes on the first trading day after the launch of Securitize Stocks, which saw the stock drop by as much as 10% in early trading on Monday, with the new target price still about 45% higher than the stock price at that time. Palmer noted that although SECZ's stock price rose last week due to the news of the platform's launch, the market still views it as a tokenization service provider, while the company has actually evolved into a market operator.StoneX pointed out that in the second quarter, Securitize's trading volume of $5.3 billion generated most of its tokenization revenue from integration fees, with the trading volume itself being almost unmonetized. The launch of Securitize Stocks is expected to change this situation, allowing the company to start charging fees from trading and services, and potentially earning collateral-related income in the future. Last week, the platform introduced stocks such as Apple, NVIDIA, and Tesla to Solana, with transactions settled in USDC, and the tokens backed one-to-one by the underlying stocks, allowing holders to enjoy dividends and shareholder rights.StoneX expects Securitize's revenue to approach $120 million in 2027, growing to about $198.5 million in 2028, with an annual growth rate of approximately 65%. Based on Palmer's target price of $18, the corresponding enterprise value to revenue multiple for the 2028 forecast is about 14.5 times. The firm believes that as the scale of tokenized stock trading fees expands, the company's revenue structure will shift from one-time integration fees to ongoing trading and service charges.