CPI is lower than expected, Nvidia leads the gains, and ETH rises by nearly 50% in a week

Here's the English translation: Benefiting from the US-China tariff agreement and slowing inflation data, US stocks generally rose on Tuesday (5/13). The US Department of Commerce officially withdrew the Biden-era "AI proliferation rules" on Tuesday, with AI giant Nvidia leading the gains, with the semiconductor index rising over 3%. ETH continued to rise after the Pectra major upgrade, with a nearly 50% increase in 7 days, though ETH/BTC remains at a low point of 0.0257. CPI Lower Than Expected, Federal Reserve May Delay Rate Cut Until September Due to moderate clothing and new car prices, the US April inflation rate rose less than expected, indicating that businesses are not yet eager to pass on the costs of increased tariffs to consumers. Data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday showed that the core Consumer Price Index (excluding volatile food and energy categories) rose 0.2% from March, with the annual CPI rate dropping to 2.3%, a new low since February 2021, indicating further easing of inflation pressure. The CPI report highlighted two potential economic dynamics. Product categories affected by higher tariffs, including new cars and clothing, did not see the price increases currently expected by economists. This suggests that importers and retailers are absorbing some additional costs, with imported products currently being sold having arrived before tariffs (especially those targeting China) took effect. Additionally, some softness in service categories like travel and entertainment indicates consumers are cutting back on leisure and discretionary spending. According to the CME FedWatch Index, investors currently expect the Federal Reserve to delay rate cuts until September, with only two potential cuts remaining this year. Federal Reserve Chair Powell expressed again in last week's press conference that given the current low unemployment rate and stable demand, the Fed is willing to maintain interest rates unchanged until they better understand the economic direction, as "the cost of waiting is quite low". ETH Rises Nearly 50% in a Week According to Lookonchain's post, a London-based asset management company, Abraxas Capital, purchased Ethereum worth nearly $500 million in less than a week. Compared to Bitcoin's recent months of gains, Ethereum's performance has been less satisfactory. Last week, ETH continued to rise after the Pectra major upgrade, with a nearly 50% increase in 7 days, while Bitcoin only rose 8% during the same period. However, ETH/BTC remains at a low point of 0.0257. Risk Warning: Cryptocurrency investment carries high risk, with prices potentially experiencing extreme volatility. You may lose all your principal. Please carefully assess the risks. Capital markets have undergone decades of transformation, evolving from paper stock certificates to electronic trading, yet remain mired in structural problems of inefficiency, lack of transparency, and systemic risks. Former SEC senior legal advisor TuongVy Le recently co-published a report with financial expert Austin Campbell, arguing that blockchain and asset tokenization will reshape market structure, creating a more direct, transparent, and risk-resistant financial system.

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A Disaster Triggered by Paper Stock Certificates: Historical Wounds of the Capital Market

The report begins by reviewing the "Document Crisis" on Wall Street in the 1960s. At that time, trading volume surged, but trading still relied on manual and paper stock certificate processing, leading to broker settlement delays, massive trading failures, and even the need to suspend trading days to "catch up" on back-office operations:

The New York Stock Exchange reported in 1968 that over $2.6 billion in securities could not be successfully delivered that year, ultimately causing more than 100 brokers to collapse.

This crisis prompted Congress and the SEC to undertake massive reforms, including establishing the Securities Investor Protection Act, strengthening clearing mechanisms, and ultimately forming today's highly intermediated securities trading system.

Expanding the Current Capital Market Structure: "Efficiency Dilemma" and "Monopoly Risk" Coexist

Although the initial intention was to solve information asymmetry and market manipulation issues, the report points out that today's market structure has become an obstacle to efficiency:

From brokers, market makers, clearing institutions, transfer agents, registrars to data platforms, each intermediary not only extracts fees but also forms information monopolies, increases friction costs, and concentrates risks.

For example, almost all US stock trading clearing is currently handled by the DTC and NSCC departments under the US Depository Trust & Clearing Company (DTCC), and this centralized structure has formed a de facto monopoly. The "Street Name Registration" system further disconnects investors from issuing companies, increasing regulatory and communication costs.

The so-called "Street Name Registration" means that when people buy stocks through brokers, the legal owner of the stocks is not themselves, but registered under the broker or other nominee shareholders, raising concerns about information opacity, shareholder rights dilution, and risks concentrated in intermediaries.

Financial Potential of Capital Block Chain: Reconstructing the Basic Logic of Trading

The report further points out that Block Chain and asset tokenization technology can fundamentally restructure the capital market structure. Its five major advantages include:

1. Disintermediation: Transactions can be completed through smart contracts and decentralized exchanges (DEX), eliminating multiple intermediaries.

2. Instant Clearing: Block Chain enables atomic transactions without T+1 delays, reducing counterparty risks.

3. Transparency: All transactions can be verified on-chain, enhancing regulatory and investor trust.

4. Programmable Finance: Complex functions like automatic clearing, conditional contract execution, and trustless escrow can be designed.

5. Greater Resilience: The decentralized Block Chain architecture reduces single point of failure risks and enhances financial system stability.

Le states: "If this technology had existed in the 1960s, the overall landscape of capital markets might have been completely different."

(From JPMorgan to Ethereum: How On-Chain "Controllable Privacy" Changes the Rules of Block Chain and Financial Games)

Technology is Not a Panacea: The Next Step in Risk Awareness and Regulation

Additionally, the report does not shy away from discussing potential problems in Block Chain systems, including smart contract vulnerabilities, private key loss risks, on-chain information abuse or manipulation, etc. Especially in a decentralized architecture, the lack of clear liability attribution and regulatory targets also makes anti-money laundering and consumer protection major challenges:

Whether it's the DEX "sandwich attack", MEV issues, or potential risks in CEX such as asset misappropriation and insider trading, these all need to be addressed through institutional design and regulatory innovation.

Legislative Voices Rising: An Opportunity to Build the Next-Generation Financial Market

The report points out that the United States is promoting multiple legislative drafts such as the 21st Century Financial Innovation and Technology Act (FIT21) and the Lummis and Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act (RFIA), which are key moments in building a new financial framework.

Le argues that regulation should move beyond the old mindset of "whether crypto assets are securities or commodities" and shift towards exploring "how to make the infrastructure of capital markets more efficient and transparent":

The common focus is designing a modernized market regulatory framework that can preserve the advantages of blockchain while mitigating new risks.

(Securities Tokenization Reaches $22.6 Billion! SEC Chair Atkins: BlackRock and Franklin Templeton Have Already Deployed, Regulatory Regulations Need to Keep Up with the Times)

Traditional Assets Will Eventually Go "On-Chain", Redefining Financial Markets

The report finally predicts that the ultimate value of crypto technology is not in trading Bitcoin or Non-Fungible Tokens, but as the backbone of future capital markets. Le summarizes: "Stocks, bonds, funds, and even real estate will ultimately be tokenized and 'go on-chain', making the global financial system more open, democratic, and efficient."

This is not just a new technology, but an opportunity to build the financial future. We cannot miss it.

(Moving US Stocks and ETFs On-Chain! Ondo Founder Allman: Brokers Compete to Collaborate, BlackRock and Goldman Sachs Will Participate in Governance Verification)