MARKETS week ahead: June 21 – 27Crypto Total Market Cap, $CRYPTOCAP:TOTALXBTFXLast week in the news Markets experienced selling pressure after Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s first policy meeting, where rates were left unchanged but officials indicated that additional tightening could still be warranted if inflation remains elevated. As markets continue to adjust to a “higher-for-longer” interest rate outlook, they put asset prices under pressure. The S&P 500 had a sharp correction but still managed to close the week at 7.500. Stronger US Dollar and higher US Treasury yields pushed the price of gold toward $4.155. Treasury yields adjusted to higher for longer policy, bringing back yields toward the 4,45% level. The crypto market was also affected, with BTC closing the week lower, modestly below the $64K level. Last week marked the first FOMC meeting under new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, an event closely watched by markets for signals on the future policy path. As expected, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged; however, Warsh emphasized in his press conference that the central bank’s primary mandate is restoring and maintaining price stability. He reiterated that the Fed remains committed to bringing inflation under control and indicated a willingness to keep policy restrictive for longer if inflation pressures persist. Some concern emerged in markets after several FOMC members suggested that additional rate hikes could still be considered if necessary. On the macroeconomic front, U.S. data painted a mixed picture. Industrial production in May rose by 0.1% m/m and 1.7% y/y, slightly below expectations of 0.3% and 1.9% respectively. In contrast, retail sales surprised to the upside, increasing by 0.9% m/m and 6.9% y/y, beating expectations of 0.6% and 4.0%, respectively. Apple is facing increasing pressure from a global “memory crisis” driven by strong AI-related demand, which has pushed up chip costs across the industry. As a result, the company is preparing to raise prices on devices to offset rising memory and storage costs. The situation is being described as a structural supply shortage rather than a short-term disruption, with demand for AI infrastructure tightening availability of components used in consumer electronics. This trend is now spilling over into end-user pricing across the tech sector, including smartphones and PCs. Goldman Sachs has lowered its global smartphone market outlook, citing a sharp rise in memory chip costs that is driving up device bill-of-materials expenses across the industry. The bank now expects weaker unit volumes as manufacturers respond by cutting low-end production and shifting toward higher-priced premium devices to protect margins. Still, Goldman sees the total smartphone market value continuing to grow, supported by higher average selling prices and an ongoing shift in consumer demand toward premium models. The note highlights that AI-driven demand for memory is tightening supply and keeping pricing pressures elevated across DRAM and NAND markets. CRYPTO MARKET The crypto market delivered a mixed performance this week, with gains in several large-cap cryptocurrencies offset by weakness across a number of altcoins. Market sentiment remained cautious as investors continued to assess the sustainability of the recent recovery, resulting in a relatively uneven distribution of returns across the digital asset landscape. Total crypto market capitalization remained flat during the previous week. Daily trading volumes further decreased to the level of $85B turnover on a daily basis. Total market capitalization since the beginning of this year currently stands in a negative territory of -26%, with a total outflow of -$770B. Bitcoin and Ethereum once again remained in focus. Bitcoin slipped by 1.2% on a weekly basis, giving back a small portion of last week's gains, while Ethereum outperformed with a 3.0% w/w increase. Among the major cryptocurrencies, Solana advanced 5.5%, while Tron gained 2.4% and Litecoin rose 0.9%. XRP remained virtually unchanged with a marginal 0.1% decline. On the downside, Avalanche fell 9.0%, SUI lost 8.3%, and Cardano declined 5.9%, reflecting continued weakness among several alternative Layer-1 projects. The strongest performers within the majors were Uniswap, which surged 17.7% w/w, and Hyperliquid, which gained 16.6%. Maker advanced 12.7%, closely followed by Stellar (+12.7%) and Zcash (+12.6%). Additional strong performances were recorded by POL (+6.2%), Solana (+5.5%), Algorand (+5.4%), and DASH (+4.0%). On the negative side, Avalanche posted the largest weekly decline of 9.0%, followed by Monero (-8.4%), SUI (-8.3%), and ONDO (-7.8%). Cardano also recorded a notable decline of 5.9%, while DOGE fell 5.0%. Overall, the market remained split between a handful of strong outperformers and a broader group of assets still struggling to regain momentum. Outside of the majors, the strongest performers were Aerodrome Finance, which gained 50% w/w, followed by Jito (+25%) and Worldcoin (+18%). These gains indicate that investor interest remains concentrated in a limited number of high-growth narratives despite the generally mixed market environment. Circulating supply changes were relatively modest during the week. Cardano recorded the largest increase in circulating supply, rising by 0.4% w/w, while Filecoin expanded by 0.2%. XRP, DOGE, Stellar and Solana each posted increases of approximately 0.1%. On the downside, IOTA recorded the largest reduction in circulating supply, declining by 2.4%, while Hyperliquid and Uniswap each saw minor decreases of 0.1%. CRYPTO FUTURES MARKET The crypto futures market delivered a mixed performance this week, with Bitcoin futures posting modest losses across most maturities while Ether futures managed to record gains despite continued uncertainty in the broader digital asset market. Bitcoin futures weakened slightly over the week, with contracts declining between 0.6% and 1.4% across the curve. The June 2026 contract fell by 0.62% to $64,190, while longer-dated maturities such as December 2027 declined by approximately 1.17% to $68,205. The relatively small magnitude of the pullback compared with previous weeks suggests that selling pressure has moderated, although the market remains cautious. The futures curve continues to exhibit a positive term structure, with longer-dated contracts trading at a premium to near-term maturities, reflecting expectations of higher Bitcoin prices over the longer horizon. Ether futures outperformed Bitcoin and moved higher across nearly all listed maturities. Weekly gains ranged from a marginal decline of 0.06% in the August 2026 contract to increases of nearly 4% in some maturities. The June 2026 contract advanced 2.93% to $1,724, while longer-dated contracts gained around 2.2%, with the December 2027 maturity settling at $1,860. The stronger performance of Ether futures indicates renewed investor interest in Ethereum relative to Bitcoin and suggests improving sentiment toward the broader smart-contract ecosystem. The divergence between the two markets was evident throughout the futures curve. While Bitcoin futures consolidated following the previous week's rebound, Ether futures continued to recover, allowing Ethereum to outperform on a relative basis. Such rotation is often observed when investors become more willing to assume additional risk within the digital asset sector.