Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse weighed in on Friday’s CPI print, arguing that cooling inflation — and a notable drop in financial services costs — may partly reflect pro-crypto policy moves. CPI basics and market reaction - The Labor Department’s consumer price index matched expectations, with headline inflation at 2.7% year-over-year and core CPI (which strips out food and energy) coming in at 2.6% YoY, slightly below the 2.7% forecast. - The CPI report showed a 3.5% decline in consumer financial services costs, a line item Garlinghouse singled out in an X post. He suggested the Trump administration’s pro-crypto regulatory stance may have helped make some financial services more accessible and cheaper — a factor that could have contributed to the softer reading. Why crypto traders cheered - The inflation print was taken as bullish for risk assets: Bitcoin briefly pushed past $92,000 and later climbed to a year-to-date high above $97,000, while major altcoins including Ethereum, XRP (Ripple-linked), Solana and Dogecoin also posted gains. - Softer inflation raises the prospect the Fed could ease monetary policy sooner or more often if prices remain stable, a dynamic that tends to support crypto prices. Prediction market Polymarket showed traders increasing the odds of multiple rate cuts this year: a 27% chance of three cuts and a 21% chance of two, up from expectations that had centered on two cuts. The piece also noted that a Trump-picked Fed chair is expected to favor rate cuts, which would further reinforce this view. Regulatory backdrop: CLARITY Act markup delayed - Garlinghouse also praised the CLARITY Act’s markup effort just before it was postponed, calling the markup “long overdue” and “a massive step forward” toward workable rules that protect consumers. He reiterated Ripple’s position that regulatory clarity benefits the industry and that “clarity beats chaos,” saying he’s optimistic issues can be resolved through the markup process. - The Senate Banking Committee postponed the markup after Coinbase withdrew its support, citing concerns about DeFi and stablecoin yield provisions. Garlinghouse has not publicly commented on the postponement; Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the bill’s progress hasn’t stalled despite the setback. Bottom line Garlinghouse framed the CPI print as another data point in which regulatory choices and macro policy interact with crypto markets: softer inflation and increased odds of Fed easing helped spark a market rally, while the fate of congressional crypto legislation remains a key uncertainty for the industry. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

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