Fed raises 25bp to 3.75-4% (first since 2023), BTC holds $76K; Anthropic considers new model vs GPT-6 Astra, IPO delayed; Google Gemini 3.8 Live; Samsung backs Euclyd vs NVIDIA.
Reuters reported Sept 18 that Anthropic is considering rolling out a new AI model to counter OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra momentum, launched Sept 3. Despite CEO Amodei's earlier industry-wide slowdown call, Anthropic must accelerate as Astra gains enterprise traction. The IPO may also be delayed until after US November midterms, having originally targeted mid-October roadshow.[1]
OpenAI launched Astra for Law on Sept 17, bringing frontier intelligence to legal work, customized law firm workflows, interconnected legal data sources, and legal-grade security controls for confidential matters. This is GPT-6 Astra's first vertical industry version, directly targeting the legal AI market.[2]
Google released Gemini 3.8 Live on Sept 18 with sharper naturalness and lower latency in live voice conversation, widely read as a direct response to OpenAI's GPT-Live-1 and GPT-6 Astra. Real-time voice is shifting from "demo-grade" to "daily-driver," with competition moving from text benchmarks to end-to-end experience.[3]
Google is testing a new AI agent called CC that coordinates schedules, documents, email, reminders, forms, and shared household tasks for up to six family members. CC gets its own Google account, connects to explicitly shared information, interacts via Google Chat, and can route certain emails to the agent.[4]
On Sept 16, Emerald AI, Google, and NVIDIA announced an AI Energy Management alliance for flexible AI data centers. AI factories are called the infrastructure of the intelligence era; responsible scaling depends on grid-side innovation as much as data-center innovation. The alliance aims to solve AI data center energy bottlenecks.[5]
Samsung invested $231 million in Dutch AI chip startup Euclyd, which raised €200M total for AI inference processors that cut energy use and data-center costs. As demand for NVIDIA GPU alternatives rises, Samsung is actively building a diversified AI chip supply chain.[6]
AI infrastructure company Crusoe raised $3.9 billion to expand AI compute and data center capacity. Despite AI slowdown calls causing semiconductor volatility, capital continues flowing into AI infrastructure, particularly inference compute and energy support.[3]
OpenAI revealed Habitat has evolved from a Python library to a global distributed storage platform serving 1 billion ChatGPT users at 22 million requests per second. This infrastructure milestone demonstrates OpenAI's global-scale engineering capability and underpins GPT-6 Astra enterprise growth.[2]
On Sept 17 Beijing time, FOMC raised the federal funds rate by 25bp to 3.75%-4.00%, the first hike since July 2023 and Chair Warsh's first. All 12 voting members approved. Dot plot shows 16 of 18 members expect at least one more hike by year-end. 10Y Treasury yield broke 5% this week, highest since 2007.[7]
Post-hike BTC traded $75,000-$76,500 before stabilizing around $76,300, avoiding the crash markets feared. ETH ranged $2,370-$2,430 before settling near $2,420. Total crypto market cap recovered above $2.7T from below $2.6T. Markets had priced in the hike; "sell the rumor, buy the news" effect materialized.[8]
The Senate rejected CLARITY Act by a narrow 49-50 margin, and BTC fell over 3% on Tuesday. The bill would have provided regulatory clarity for crypto, but bipartisan divide led to failure. Combined with hike expectations, BTC was pressured pre-decision. This is another setback for US crypto regulation legislation.[9]
Post-hike US stocks fell — Dow -1.2%, S&P 500 -0.4-0.5% — while BTC held around $76K. This divergence shows crypto had pre-priced the hike and correlation with US stocks weakened. Oil broke $100/barrel on Israel-Iran conflict, pushing inflation expectations, but BTC showed inflation-resistance properties.[10]
While major cryptos moved modestly, Zcash (ZEC) surged over 20% in 24h, becoming the best-performing major coin after the hike. SOL held around $100, and several altcoins posted double-digit gains. Risk appetite gradually returned post-hike as capital sought high-beta assets.[11]
| Asset | Price (USD) | 24h Change | Market Cap (B) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin (BTC) | $76,300 | +0.8% | $1,528 |
| Ethereum (ETH) | $2,420 | +1.2% | $296 |
| Solana (SOL) | $100.20 | +2.5% | $46.1 |
| BNB | $578 | +0.9% | $84.2 |
| XRP | $0.558 | +1.8% | $30.5 |
| Dogecoin (DOGE) | $0.142 | +3.1% | $20.7 |
| Cardano (ADA) | $0.435 | +1.5% | $15.5 |
| Zcash (ZEC) | $168.50 | +20.3% | $2.8 |
| Chainlink (LINK) | $16.20 | +2.1% | $9.6 |
| Polkadot (DOT) | $7.08 | +1.7% | $9.6 |
Hike landed, bad news exhausted: BTC decouples and stabilizes. Fed raised 25bp to 3.75-4%, first since 2023, unanimous. BTC held $75K-$76.5K without panic; total market cap recovered to $2.7T. Dow -1.2% while BTC flat — correlation dropped to 0.35, showing crypto had pre-priced the hike. But dot plot's hawkish signal (16/18 expect another hike) may pressure risk assets in coming sessions.
AI competition shifts from text to verticals and voice; slowdown calls prove hollow. Despite earlier slowdown calls, Anthropic is reportedly accelerating a new model vs GPT-6 Astra, IPO delayed to after November. OpenAI launched Astra for Law; Google released Gemini 3.8 Live. Vertical industries and real-time experience become new battlegrounds. Crusoe $3.9B and Samsung's Euclyd investment show capital still flowing. App layer keeps outperforming hardware — Microsoft +2.1%, Alphabet +3.2% this week.
Near-term: watch post-hike effects and AI model iteration. The hawkish dot plot may continue pressuring risk assets, but BTC has shown resilience. On AI, Anthropic's new model timing, Gemini 3.8 Live reception, and GPT-6 Astra enterprise revenue will be next week's focus. CNY mid-price strengthened 222 pips this week to 6.7521; onshore broke 6.70 — RMB strength buffers emerging market assets.
HiBlock Accelerator is an early-stage VC accelerator focused on deep tech and Web3, headquartered at Cyberport Hong Kong. The daily AI & Web3 report is produced by the HiBlock research team, covering core dynamics, data insights and trend judgments in global AI and blockchain.