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Daily Market Update: Stock Futures Rise With Bitcoin at $67,200 Ahead of Inflation Report

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E-Mini S&P 500 Mar 26 (ES=F)

TLDR

  • U.S. stock futures advanced Thursday with Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all posting gains after January jobs data showed 130,000 positions added
  • Consumer Price Index report delayed by government shutdown now scheduled for Friday, expected to show 2.5% year-over-year inflation
  • Federal Reserve rate cut probability stands at 5.4% for near-term action as strong employment complicates easing plans
  • Bitcoin consolidates at $67,200 while trading in $62,822 to $72,000 range following recent market selloff
  • Cisco stock dropped 7% after-hours on missed earnings while McDonald’s dipped slightly despite beating estimates

U.S. stock futures moved higher Thursday morning as traders processed January’s employment report. The data showed 130,000 new jobs added last month, surpassing analyst expectations.

E-Mini S&P 500 Mar 26 (ES=F)
E-Mini S&P 500 Mar 26 (ES=F)

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained approximately 0.2% in early trading. S&P 500 futures rose by a similar margin while Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.1%.

The futures gains followed a mixed Wednesday session on Wall Street. Major indexes closed relatively flat after the jobs data complicated Federal Reserve policy expectations.

Employment Data Reshapes Market Outlook

Markets initially rallied following the January jobs report release. However, the stronger-than-expected hiring numbers created new questions about monetary policy timing.

Year-end 2025 employment figures were revised downward in the report. The revisions revealed slower job growth last year than initially calculated.

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A resilient labor market paired with persistent inflation could reduce near-term rate cut likelihood. This scenario has become a key concern for equity investors who anticipated policy easing.

CME’s FedWatch tool currently indicates a 94.6% probability of unchanged rates. The Federal Reserve is expected to maintain the 3.50%-3.75% range at upcoming meetings.

Tim Sun from HashKey Group explained that positive economic news creates challenges for risk assets. Strong employment removes urgency for the Fed to implement early policy easing.

Inflation Report Takes Priority

Investors now turn attention to Friday’s Consumer Price Index data. The report was delayed due to a partial government shutdown but will provide crucial inflation insights.

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January CPI is forecast to decline to 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. This would mark a 0.2% drop from December’s reading.

Derek Lim from Caladan stated that inflation data carries more weight than employment figures. A lower-than-expected reading would increase pressure on the Fed to cut rates sooner.

Lower policy rates typically ease financial conditions and reduce discount rates. This environment has historically supported both equities and cryptocurrencies during high liquidity periods.

Conversely, hotter inflation numbers could cement a higher-for-longer rate environment. Such an outcome would likely pressure risk assets across markets.

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Crypto and After-Hours Movers

Bitcoin currently trades at $67,200, down 0.5% over 24 hours. Ethereum holds steady at $1,970 according to CoinGecko.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price
Bitcoin (BTC) Price

The leading cryptocurrency has traded between $62,822 and $72,000 this past week. Volatility remains relatively muted following late January and early February declines.

Sun noted that interest rate futures repriced quickly after jobs data. Rate cut expectations compressed and shifted toward the second half of 2026.

Cisco Systems fell roughly 7% in after-hours trading after missing profit forecasts. McDonald’s declined modestly despite surpassing earnings expectations.

Friday’s earnings calendar includes reports from Coinbase, Applied Materials, and Rivian. A softer inflation print would signal easing price pressures while growth continues.

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Crypto World

The Next Crypto Bull Run Won’t Be About Coins or Viral Hype

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Crypto bull cycles over the past 5 years have been mostly about token speculation and, more recently, institutional adoption. But the next cycle will be dominated by real-world applications, according to Clem Chambers – founder of ADVFN, Europe’s leading stocks and markets website

Speaking at BeInCrypto’s Markets Intelligence Council, Chambers argued that the industry is moving past its trading-driven cycle.

“That era has probably ended and certainly is coming to an end. And then that will be replaced by use cases,” he said, pointing to a structural change in how value is created in crypto.

The Trade Is Crowded, The Utility Isn’t

His comments come as the current cycle shows clear divergence between price action and underlying activity. Bitcoin and Ethereum continue to attract institutional flows, especially in a post-ETF environment. 

However, capital is concentrating at the top, while mid-tier tokens struggle to hold attention or liquidity.

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At the same time, a different layer of the market is gaining traction. Tokenized real-world assets, stablecoin-based payment rails, and blockchain infrastructure tied to AI and data are seeing steady growth. 

These sectors generate usage, fees, and in some cases, real revenue — something most speculative tokens failed to deliver in previous cycles.

Forget Tokens, Think Products

Chambers framed this shift bluntly. 

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“Forget Fi and look for apps, not Fi, apps, applications of tokens and blockchains,” he said. 

Earlier cycles focused on financial primitives — DeFi protocols, yield farming, and token trading. The emerging trend centers on applications that users interact with directly, often without focusing on the underlying token.

This aligns with broader market signals in 2026. Tokenized funds from firms like BlackRock and growing stablecoin usage in payments show how blockchain is embedding into existing financial systems. 

Meanwhile, infrastructure sectors such as decentralized physical networks and AI-linked protocols are attracting developer activity and venture funding.

However, this transition is uneven. Speculative trading still drives short-term price moves, and retail participation remains largely momentum-based. 

Many application-layer projects also struggle with user retention and monetization.

Even so, the direction is becoming clearer. If previous cycles were driven by narratives around tokens, the next phase may depend on whether blockchain-based applications can deliver consistent utility.

Chambers’ argument reflects a broader reality: the market is starting to reward usage over hype. 

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Whether that shift fully defines the next cycle will depend on how quickly these applications can scale beyond crypto-native users.

The post The Next Crypto Bull Run Won’t Be About Coins or Viral Hype appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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Drift Protocol Warns of Potential Cybersecurity Exploit

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Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Hacks, Decentralized Exchange

Drift Protocol, a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange (DEX), detected “unusual” trading activity on the platform on Wednesday, warning users not to deposit funds until the issue has been resolved.

The Drift team did not disclose the specific cause of the ongoing incident or the damage in its initial announcement and is currently investigating the issue. 

In a subsequent update, the Drift team announced that deposits and withdrawals on the platform have been suspended. 

Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Hacks, Decentralized Exchange
Source: Drift Protocol

Blockchain cybersecurity threat researcher Vladimir S said the exploit was likely due to a crypto wallet private key leak, and the total funds lost in the incident could be as high as $200 million. 

“Admin signer was compromised, or whoever controls it intentionally executed these changes,” he said

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The stolen assets include wrapped versions of Bitcoin (BTC), Jito (JTO), the Fartcoin (FRT) memecoin, other altcoins, and various dollar, euro, and Japanese yen stablecoins, which have since been transferred to multiple wallets, according to Vladimir S.

Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Hacks, Decentralized Exchange
Source: Vladimir S

The exploiter started converting the stolen assets to the USDC (USDC) stablecoin, bridging the funds to the Ethereum network and purchasing Ether (ETH), according to Solana treasury company DeFi Development Corp.

Cointelegraph reached out to Drift Protocol but did not receive an immediate response by the time of publication. 

Cybersecurity exploits and hacks were responsible for $49 million in crypto losses during February, a sharp decrease from January, but a reflection of the ongoing security threats users and platforms face.

Related: Resolv temporarily halts protocol to ‘contain the impact’ of 80M USR exploit

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Drift token impacted by the exploit

The price of the Drift (DRIFT) token briefly reached $0.68 on Wednesday, but fell by about 18% following news of the exploit, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Hacks, Decentralized Exchange
Drift token falls after news of the exploit. Source: CoinMarketCap

About 83% of the native crypto tokens of hacked platforms never recover to pre-hack prices, according to blockchain security company Immunefi. 

“The stolen funds are only the first layer of damage,” Immunefi CEO Mitchell Amador told Cointelegraph in March.

“What follows is often more destructive: sustained token price suppression, reduced treasury capacity, leadership disruption, lost development time, and erosion of user trust,” he added. 

Magazine: WazirX hackers prepped 8 days before attack, swindlers fake fiat for USDT: Asia Express

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