At the FOMC meeting last week, Jerome Powell came out sounding more hawkish than ever. No hints at rate cuts. No soft language. Just the same firm message: “We want stable prices and maximum employment,” and until then, rate cuts are off the table.
Markets dipped. Sentiment turned cautious. Some even started to think there might not be any cuts at all this year.
But then came the twist.
The Jobs Data That Changed Everything
Just two days after Powell’s firm stance, the Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) report came in. It was a shock.
The U.S. added only 73,000 jobs in July , that’s the weakest number in over 3 years and way below the market’s expectations of over 150,000. It was exactly the kind of slowdown the Fed said it was waiting for.
In that moment, the tone of the market flipped.
Traders immediately started pricing in higher chances of rate cuts, with JP Morgan even saying we could see up to three cuts before year’s end. Bond yields dropped. Risk assets bounced. The Fed didn’t change its mind , but the data forced the market to bet against Powell’s words.
ETH Defies the Flows
While all this was playing out, Ethereum quietly made a big move. On August 4, ETH pushed back above $3,700, despite something most people would consider bearish: a large outflow from ETH ETFs.
- Fidelity’s ETF (FETH) saw 15,770 ETH outflow.
- Invesco’s QETH also bled, contributing to a total daily outflow of 25,780 ETH.
Usually, that would pressure ETH’s price down. But not this time. ETH rallied anyway.
Why?
The answer seems to be institutional accumulation.
Big Players Are Buying ETH Like Crazy
Over the past few days, massive Ethereum buys have been announced:
- BitMine now holds 833,137 ETH (~$3B), making it the largest corporate ETH holder, all bought in just 35 days.
- SharpLink Gaming added 18,680 ETH (~$66.6M), bringing their total to nearly 499K ETH.
- Even though not ETH, DeFi Development Corp bought 110,466 SOL (~$18M), a sign that big firms are gearing up for a broader altcoin cycle.
So while retail investors were watching ETF flows, whales were buying directly and at scale.
From Doom to Boom?
Just days ago, the market looked like it was heading into another consolidation phase , hawkish Powell, rising yields, risk-off mood.
But now, with jobs data breaking down, rate cut bets increasing, and institutions stacking ETH, the momentum has shifted again.
It’s a reminder that in crypto and macro, narratives can change in 48 hours.
Millionero Non-Financial Advice (in Powell-ish tone):
Please conduct your own research. DYOR at blog.millionero.combefore diving in. Spot and perpetual markets are live on Millionero , but remember, data beats emotion.