“Mo' Gains!”

Hi There! It’s no secret that I’ve entered the onset of “the Change.” Yes, perimenopause has arrived. It came the with the full bandwagon, including the sleepless nights soaked in sweat, hot flashes that show up without invitation, stubborn weight gain, constant bloating, sporadic bleeding, foggy thoughts, and that all-too-familiar malaise that seems to hover over everything.

If you’re a woman walking through this same season, I know you feel me. For the men reading, I share this so you can better understand what the women you love may be quietly carrying. One moment we’re ourselves, the next we feel hijacked by hormones.

Last week, I decided I couldn’t just keep walking around like “Mrs. Penelope Puff” with back-to-back hot flashes. I pressed pause. I started a 9-day Defense detox. No powerlifting, no cooking, no meat, just raw, gentle foods and practices to nourish me from the inside out. The program called for a mix of fresh leafy greens, celery juice, detox smoothies, herbal teas, Epsom salt baths, essential oils, prayer, meditation, and journaling. It was my way of saying: “Body, I see you. Let’s rest.”

The first few days of detox weren’t easy. After the bathroom runs, fatigue, and emotional releases, I began to less bloated and more energized. For the first time in a long while, no hot flashes (let’s all knock on wood).

This detox was never meant as a quick fix, but as a first step. Now I get to slowly reintroduce foods to discover what truly supports my body through this season of change. I want to move into this next phase of womanhood with a cleaner gut, a calmer spirit, and a sharper mind. I want to be living proof that even in the “Change”, there’s space for renewal. 

Alright, let’s dig in!

Last week, the markets finished on a high note after a bumpy start. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell used his Jackson Hole speech to strongly suggest that interest rate cuts may be coming in September, sending stocks, bonds, and commodities rallying into the weekend. The Dow Jones clinched its first record close of 2025, while tech stocks that had been under pressure earlier in the week came roaring back. Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Tesla all gained sharply last Friday.

International markets also ended last week mostly higher, the U.S. dollar weakened, and commodities like oil and gold found support after Powell’s comments.

U.S. Markets Recap (August 17 - August 23, 2025)

Equities:

The major indexes finished mostly higher, amidst the choppiness.

• Last Week’s Results:

  • Dow Jones: +1.6% (first record close of the year)

  • S&P 500: +0.3%

  • Nasdaq: - 0.6%

The Russell 2000 small cap index outperformed its larger peers, ending with a +3.1% weekly gain.

Before Powell’s remarks, sentiment was fragile as tech stocks slumped on concerns over AI spending, tariffs, and reports that Nvidia asked suppliers to halt production of its H20 AI chip components. Retail earnings also drew attention:

• Walmart missed profit forecasts for the first time since 2022, though sales stayed strong.

• Target beat expectations, but slid after announcing COO Michael Fiddelke will step in as CEO next year.

• Lowe’s and TJX Companies rose on solid quarterly results.

Fixed Income:

Treasuries rallied after Powell’s dovish signal.

• Two-year yield: 11 bps (down to end the week)

• Ten-year yield: 7 bps

The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index also finished higher. Earlier in the week, yields briefly rose after hawkish FOMC minutes and mixed data, but Powell’s speech reversed that trend. A solid 20-year bond auction added strength to the long end of the curve.

Commodities:

• Crude Oil (WTI): up +2% on the week. Gains were supported by a 6M-barrel U.S. inventory drop and renewed uncertainty over Ukraine peace talks.

• Gold: Higher on the week as Powell boosted rate cut hopes. Silver and platinum also posted gains.

• Copper: Declined, due to industrial demand concerns.

Currencies:

The U.S. dollar snapped its winning streak as investors piled back into Fed rate cut bets.

• EUR/USD: +0.16%

• USD/JPY: -0.17%

• GBP/USD: -0.18%

U.S. Economic Recap (August 17 - August 23, 2025)

• Powell’s Jackson Hole Speech: The Fed Chair acknowledged that inflation risks have eased while unemployment has risen nearly a full percentage point since last year. He signaled that the September 17 meeting is likely when the Fed may begin rate cuts.

• Flash PMI Data: U.S. business activity accelerated, with the Composite PMI rising to 55.4 (from 55.1 in July), the strongest growth pace of 2025. Services stayed strong while manufacturing rebounded with its steepest output rise since May 2022.

Global Markets Recap (August 17 - August 23, 2025)

Europe:

European markets traded higher despite early jitters from the Trump-Putin summit. Sentiment improved after Trump called for direct Russia-Ukraine peace talks. U.K. stocks led gains, brushing off hotter-than-expected inflation as fiscal policy debates dominated headlines.

Asia:

China was the regional standout with the CSI 300 hitting 10-year highs, fueled by strong rare earth exports and easing tariff fears. Local chipmakers surged on Nvidia production headlines. Japan markets fell as weak overseas sales data and record-high government bond yields weighed on sentiment. India gained modestly while Taiwan dipped, dragged by a 3.8% slide in TSMC shares.

Crypto Recap (August 17 - August 23, 2025)

Last week, crypto mirrored equities, pulling back midweek, then rallying after Powell’s dovish comments.

• Bitcoin (BTC) had a challenging last week, slipping 1.96% overall. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw outflows totaling $1.18 billion, though some of that pressure eased after Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday. Bitcoin traded in a wide range, hitting a weekly high of about $118,600 on August 17 before sliding to a low near $111,700 on August 22. Following Powell’s remarks at Jackson Hole, BTC staged a sharp rebound, surging intraday back toward $117,400, underscoring just how sensitive crypto remains to shifts in rate expectations.

  Yet as I was writing this newsletter, prices suddenly crashed again, plunging to $110,547 on August 24. According to crypto Twitter, a whale offloaded 24,000 BTC (around $2.7 billion) across major exchanges. This massive sell order sparked a $4,000 drop in minutes and triggered a liquidation cascade, rather than a natural correction. Importantly, there was no major macro or news catalyst behind the move, it was purely supply shock from concentrated selling pressure.

• Ethereum (ETH) told a very different story last week. The token jumped 7.06% on the week, outperforming Bitcoin and coming close to setting a new all-time high after touching $4,885 on August 22. Spot ETH ETFs still recorded $241 million in net outflows, but optimism about Ethereum’s future kept prices moving higher. Analysts at JPMorgan highlighted four factors behind the rally: expectations for SEC approval of staking ETFs, growing corporate treasury adoption, clearer classification of liquid staking tokens, and approvals for in-kind ETF redemptions. Together, these developments suggest investors see Ethereum as positioned for broader institutional adoption.

• Stablecoins: Coinbase projects a $1.2T stablecoin market by 2028, with U.S. Treasuries playing a growing role as collateral.

Last Week’s Top Gainers: OKB, MORPHO, AAVE, ARB, LINK

Here are other key highlights from last week:

• MEXC launched ‘Proof of Trust’ Campaign to elevate user protection standards.

• Wyoming State debut U.S. Dollar stablecoin on seven blockchains.

• MetaMask entered stablecoin scene with mUSD launch on Ethereum and Linea.

• Google acquired 14% stake in Bitcoin Mining stock TeraWulf (WULF).

• NFT market cap dropped by $1.2B as Ethereum rally lost steam.

This week all eyes on Nvidia, inflation data and Feds !

Key U.S. Economic Releases remaining this week:

• Mon: New Home Sales

• Tues: Durable Goods, House Price Index, Consumer Confidence, Richmond Fed Index

• Thurs: Q2 GDP, Jobless Claims, Pending Home Sales

• Fri: Core PCE Inflation, Consumer Sentiment

Fed Watch

• Mon: Logan (3:15 PM), Williams (7:15 PM)

• Tues: Barkin (8:30 AM)

• Wed: Barkin (11:45 AM)

• Thurs: Waller (6:00 PM)

Expect commentary to provide clarity on how united the Fed is behind Powell’s September rate cut hints.

Earnings: 

• Nvidia (NVDA) is in focus this week after AI chip production reports rattled markets.

• Other notable reports: see chart in notes for additional companies.

Medium-to-High Impact Global Economic Events This Week:

Week 8/17/25 - 8/23/25 Recap

Special Tools and Strategies - LunarCrush

LunarCrush: A Social Intelligence Tool for Smarter Investing

In Issue #145, I explored how “mindshare” can reveal strong crypto projects hiding in plain sight. Today, let’s talk about another tool that helps you filter through the noise and find real signals before everyone else does: LunarCrush. Think of it as a librarian for the financial internet. Instead of drowning in endless Twitter threads, Reddit posts, or YouTube hype, LunarCrush sorts, categorizes, and presents the key conversations so you can make quicker, more informed decisions. Personally, I love the Categories feature. I often scan the “Stock of the Day,” “Hot Sectors,” and “Top Gainers,” then dig deeper into news articles and social chatter to find investment ideas worth my time. I do the same for crypto.

What is LunarCrush?

LunarCrush is a social intelligence platform that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze online conversations. It gathers data from across Twitter (now X), Reddit, YouTube, news sites, and other sources, then organizes it into metrics you can actually use. Unlike traditional analytics that focus on charts and earnings, LunarCrush focuses on sentiment, that is, how people are feeling and talking about assets like cryptocurrencies, stocks, NFTs, or even exchanges.

For example, if a coin suddenly has thousands of new mentions and positive engagement, LunarCrush will flag it. That way you can see what the community is buzzing about and decide whether it’s worth further research.

The Problem LunarCrush Solves

The crypto market is fast, emotional, and often chaotic. Prices are influenced not only by technical data but also by tweets, memes, and community excitement. Without a filter, you could spend hours scrolling and still miss the big picture.

LunarCrush solves this by:

• Filtering out the noise: It brings together data from multiple platforms so you don’t have to.

• Showing real-time sentiment: It tells you if the community is feeling bullish or bearish on an asset.

• Spotting early trends: It highlights new coins or projects gaining traction, sometimes before price moves happen.

• Tracking influencers: It monitors creators to show who is shaping the conversation and how much impact they have.

Categories on the LunarCrush Platform

LunarCrush organizes information into easy-to-navigate categories:

Asset Categories

• Cryptocurrencies: Track thousands of coins, filter by memecoins, DeFi, or layer-1 projects.

• Stocks: Analyze how social media sentiment affects stock prices.

• NFTs: See which collections are gaining or losing buzz.

• Exchanges: Monitor which platforms (centralized and decentralized) are trending.

• Memecoins: A separate category for the most volatile, community-driven tokens.

Ranking Categories

• CategoryRank™: Ranks entire sectors by social buzz.

• TopicRank™: Shows the most-discussed topics over the last 24 hours.

• CreatorRank™: Ranks influencers by their engagement and impact.

• AltRank™: Compares assets against others in their category.

• Galaxy Score: A 1–100 score measuring the health of an asset’s social and market activity.

• Trending Posts and News: The top stories and content across platforms.

Other sections like Trending and a personalized Home Screen make it easier to focus on what matters to you.

User Feedback: Advantages and Disadvantages

Based on the platform’s reviews, here are some of the features users like and thinks needs to be improved.

Advantages

• Unique metrics like Galaxy Score and AltRank.

• Early detection of trends before they appear on price charts.

• Broad coverage across crypto, stocks, and NFTs.

• Multiple formats: web, mobile app, and API.

Disadvantages

• Social sentiment can be manipulated and is not always accurate.

• Many advanced tools require a paid subscription.

• Limited data for smaller, lesser-known projects.

• Occasional technical glitches.

How Different Investor Levels Can Use LunarCrush

Beginners

• Explore which coins or stocks are getting the most attention.

• Track social sentiment (positive or negative).

• Follow top influencers to learn who moves markets.

• Build a small watchlist for ongoing tracking.

Intermediate Investors

• Use AltRank to spot assets gaining momentum.

• Set real-time alerts to catch shifts in sentiment.

• Compare assets side by side for stronger decisions.

• Visualize data with bubble charts and treemaps.

Advanced Investors

• Integrate LunarCrush data into algorithmic models through the API.

• Track macro narratives like AI or memecoins to anticipate sector moves.

• Measure how specific influencers affect price action.

• Analyze community strength to evaluate long-term project health.

LunarCrush is not a standalone tool, and should be used with charts and other analysis. The platform gives you access to the emotional and social layer of the market, the part that drives many of the sharp moves in crypto and stocks. All in all, LunarCrush can help you see the signals that most investors miss. The key is knowing how to apply these insights in a way that fits your risk tolerance and goals.

Disclaimer: This newsletter is strictly educational. The information this report provides does not constitute investment, financial, trading, or any other advice. You should not treat any of the report’s content as such. Please be careful and do your research.