Fed Vice Chair: Default Choice Now Rate Hikes; Waller Speech Reverses Fed Logic

This signals a hawkish pivot in Fed communication, which historically pressures risk assets like crypto by tightening liquidity conditions. The shift matters because it challenges the market's prior assumption of easing, potentially resetting valuations across digital assets and RWAs tied to rate-sensitive yield expectations. The open question is whether this rhetoric translates into actual policy action in upcoming meetings or remains a signaling tool. If hikes gain traction as the base case, expect heightened volatility in crypto as leverage and carry trade dynamics adjust to a higher-for-longer rate environment.