Highlights of the week: EU and duties for the US, bitcoin record, hope for luxury from China

US President Donald Trump signed the Stablecoin Act into law - a major event for crypto-business. Bitcoin price this week exceeded $123 thousand for the first time. The EU is preparing to impose duties on goods from the U.S. for 72 billion euros in response to Washington's trade fee hike from August 1. China's GDP dynamics gives hope to the luxury market. The main events from July 14 to 18 - in our review;

U.S. President Donald Trump on July 18 signed the GENIUS Act to regulate stablecoins after Congress approved the document on Thursday, July 17.

The law, which Trump lobbied for personally, introduces basic rules for regulating stablecoins. The move paves the way for their wider use in everyday financial transactions, wrote Bloomberg. The same will give legitimacy to the $265 billion market, which Citigroup analysts predict could grow to $3.7 trillion by 2030.

On Friday, the day after the GENIUS Act was approved, the value of the cryptocurrency market surpassed $4 trillion for the first time  

The GENIUS Act was the centerpiece of Trump's announced "crypto week." Also on Thursday, the House of Representatives voted to pass two more bills regulating the cryptocurrency market. The CLARITY Act defines the legal status of digital assets, while the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act prohibits the Fed from issuing a digital U.S. dollar and prioritizes private stablecoins. 

What else is there to read about it?"

- Victor Dostov, an international expert on digital finance and author of the "Notes on Sleeves" Telegram channel, discusses the impact of the mass distribution of stablecoins in his article "From payments to profits: what will the mass popularity of stablecoins lead to".

 - Which companies benefited from the GENIUS Act? This is discussed in the piece "The passage of the Stablecoin Bill led to a USDC issuer rally. Who else benefited?" written by correspondent Vlad Osipov.

Earlier this week, the price of bitcoin exceeded the psychological mark of $120k for the first time, with the cryptocurrency at its peak priced above $123k. 

The new high was attributed to market expectations that the digital asset industry would achieve a long-awaited policy victory this week, wrote Reuters. It's about the passage of key bills to regulate cryptocurrency in the U.S. Congress. 

"There are several favorable factors on [bitcoin's] side right now," said IG Markets analyst Tony Sycamore. Among them are the support  of US President Donald Trump, demand from institutional investors and expectations of further growth.

Bitcoin is up more than 27% since the beginning of the year. The options market shows that traders are increasingly active in betting on its continued rise in the coming weeks.

Bitcoin was trading around $118k on Friday 

What else is there to read about it?"

- Mining companies have joined the cryptocurrency rally and their shares have grown even stronger. What explains this growth and how long it will last, wrote analyst Aldiyar Anuarbekov in the article "Miners have overtaken bitcoin. Why their rally may last longer than the cryptocurrency's growth?"

On Wednesday, July 16, news that Donald Trump is likely to fire Fed chief Jerome Powell in the near future caused a brief panic in the markets. A White House source told Bloomberg that the U.S. leader discussed the possibility at a meeting with congressional Republicans on the evening of July 15. The New York Times confirmed that Trump even showed lawmakers a draft of his resignation letter. 

Following the news, leading U.S. indexes went negative, with the dollar falling sharply, noted Bloomberg. But on most indexes, the markets' reaction was relatively subdued - partly because of Trump's penchant for making threats that he doesn't follow through on, but also because of investor doubts about whether the U.S. president even has the authority to fire the Fed chief simply because he doesn't like the Fed's interest rate policy.

Within an hour, the situation had stabilized, with Trump announcing that he "has no plans to take any action" to remove Powell. Still, the markets' initial reaction showed just how high anxiety levels are among investors. They fear that Trump may take a step previously thought unthinkable - interfering with the Fed's independence.

Who could replace Powell if he resigns?"

- Journalist Ekaterina Komarova discussed the possible contenders for the post of the head of the Fed reported in the piece "Lower rates, be active and look good: How Trump is choosing a new Fed chief".

The European Union has prepared a second package of retaliatory measures against the United States, concerning American goods worth 72 billion euros ($84 billion). These include Boeing airplanes, cars and bourbon, Bloomberg reported after studying a 206-page document by the European Commission.

The EU duties could also affect U.S. engineering products, chemical products, medical devices, electrical equipment, wines and agricultural goods. Final approval of the document would require the agreement of all countries in the bloc.

This is in response to U.S. threats to impose higher duties  - Trump previously announced that the states planned to impose 30 percent duties on goods from the EU starting August 1.

Negotiations on the terms of a new U.S.-EU trade deal are underway, but hard. Trump has already hardened his position in these negotiations and is now demanding that any trade agreement include a minimum duty of 15-20% on all EU goods, the Financial Times reports citing sources. The prime rate on all US imports is now 10%. It has also refused to lower the 25 percent levy on cars from the EU. 

This week, the operator of the S&P 500, S&P Dow Jones Indices, twice reported changes in the composition of the benchmark U.S. market index.

On July 18, it included ad-buying service Trade Desk; it was included in the S&P 500 instead of software developer Ansys.

And starting July 23, the payment service Block - co-founded by billionaire and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey - will be added to the index. The company was known as Square until 2021, then it changed its name to emphasize its focus on blockchain technology. Block will take the place of shale oil producer Hess, which was bought by US company Chevron.

Block shares jumped more than 10% in extended trading on July 18: for companies, inclusion in the S&P 500 is an important positive moment, it makes the securities more liquid. Many institutional investors only buy stocks that are part of major indexes. Block's inclusion will increase the weight of the technology sector in the S&P 500, which has already grown in recent years, writes CNBC.

Unexpectedly strong second-quarter Chinese economic growth data was a rare positive news for the global luxury industry.

According to data China's National Bureau of Statistics, the country's GDP grew 5.2% year-on-year in the second quarter, helped by exports and government subsidies for industry. The result, although lower than the 5.4% growth in the previous two quarters, beat the Nikkei's forecast of 5%. Власти Китая по-прежнему рассчитывают достичь целевого показателя роста экономики в 5% по итогам 2025 года, отмечает Nikkei.

Despite the optimism about these statistics, structural problems in the Chinese economy have gone nowhere. And they continue to hold back consumer activity in a country that accounts for about 25% of global luxury goods sales. A number of domestic problems persist in the country: a housing crisis, low consumption, slowing wage growth and deflation. The trade conflict between the U.S. and China also jeopardizes hopes for a recovery in luxury demand;

Most of the world's luxury sales are to the mass middle-class consumer - which explains why China is of particular importance to the global luxury industry. Since the 2008 crisis, the Chinese economy has grown at an average annual rate of 8%, which has increased the number of affluent buyers.

Apple has announced a major $500 million deal with U.S. rare earths producer MP Materials, reported Reuters. The company is trying to strengthen its supply chain for strategically important components. This is in line with the Donald Trump administration's efforts to reduce dependence on China and bring manufacturing back to the US.

As part of the agreement, Apple will pay MP an upfront payment of $200 million to supply the magnets, which will begin in 2027. Under the agreement, the magnets will be made from recycled materials at a manufacturing facility in Texas. 

Apple said the deal is part of a broader plan to invest $500 billion in the U.S. economy over the next four years. 

What else is there to read about it?"

- What this news means for the market and global trade in general - in material  "Apple to invest $0.5 billion in rare earth production in the US. Why it matters."

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor