Tuesday’s CPI report, which tracks consumer prices, came in hotter than expected. Prices rose 0.4% in October, versus 0.3% expected. Next comes PPI on Friday at 7:30 a.m. CT, which tracks the prices businesses receive for what they sell. Together, these reports help show whether inflation is cooling.

That matters for December’s interest-rate decision. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh has said incoming data will guide the next move. Governor Christopher Waller went further, supporting a quarter-point hike and saying a half-point increase should be considered if inflation stayed stubborn. The Fed meets December 8–9. Higher rates make borrowing more expensive, which can put pressure on stocks and crypto. Warsh’s remarks · Waller’s remarks · Fed calendar

Here’s what’s still ahead this week. All times are Central.

Market calendars · Jobless claims · Home sales · PPI · Cisco · Applied Materials

Nvidia’s board opened an independent investigation after reports that Huang may have been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort. The board said it had no reason to believe national security or company secrets had been compromised. The investor question is whether the fallout could lead to tighter rules on where Nvidia can sell its most advanced chips.

OpenAI reportedly closed $11 billion in fresh funding. Reuters reported that it’s the first part of a larger round that values the company at $1.25 trillion. Bloomberg reported that the full round could reach $20 billion, below the earlier goal of at least $30 billion. For an AI company with big bills for chips and computing power, the cash raised matters more than the headline valuation.

Oil fell nearly 6% Monday as traders weighed the possibility of progress in talks with Iran. That helped stocks because cheaper oil can ease inflation worries. Meanwhile, Democrats won both the House and Senate in the midterms, setting up divided government with President Trump. Investors are trying to figure out what that means for everything from AI data-center oversight to crypto policy.

While the market was swinging, Coinbase announced final approval for its U.S. national trust charter, following Ripple’s approval in October. In plain English, Coinbase can safeguard digital assets for institutions under federal oversight. Think of custody as the safekeeping side of banking. A trust charter is built around services like custody. Checking accounts and loans are outside its scope.

Here’s where it gets real. In a separate pilot, PNC is using Coinbase’s technology to let eligible businesses accept USDC, a digital dollar. PNC converts the payment into ordinary dollars and deposits it into the company’s bank account. That’s what adoption can look like in real life. A business gets paid and keeps using the bank account it already has.

Getting institutions into crypto also means preparing to protect their assets for years to come. The XRP Ledger Foundation has proposed new signing keys designed to resist attacks from future quantum computers. A signing key is what lets you authorize a payment. A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could eventually break the security behind today’s keys, so developers are working on the replacement now.

A study on how to move accounts to the new system is planned for the first half of 2027. Ripple’s broader roadmap targets 2028 for the transition. Testing, security reviews and network approval still have to happen.

My read is cautious. Canton, LINK and NEAR are still making lower highs on their seven-day charts. ONDO has bounced off its low but has already given back part of that bounce. INJ is the strongest of this group, holding above the level where its week began, although it’s still below its recent peak.

The broader market also gave back some of Monday’s rally after the inflation report. The S&P 500 closed Tuesday at 7,520.93, down 0.4%, and the Nasdaq at 25,065.87, down 0.7%. Both remained up about 2% for the week. For an initial recovery checkpoint, I’m watching a return above Monday’s closes around 7,550 on the S&P and 25,255 on the Nasdaq, followed by a successful retest. These are reference levels from the rebound, rather than proof that the larger correction has ended.

The Golden Age buildout continues through the volatility. Our job is to follow the progress, respect the price, and build positions with discipline.

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This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and equity investments involve risk, including total loss. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Always do your research before making investment decisions.