Ripple, SEC End Long-Running Dispute
XRP rose 5% to about $3.27 after Thursday’s filing. The SEC had appealed a 2023 ruling that found Ripple’s retail XRP sales through exchanges were not securities violations, while Ripple cross-appealed to defend its position. In June 2024, both sides agreed to drop their appeals, leaving Judge Analisa Torres’ penalties intact — including $125 million in fines and a permanent injunction against future violations related to institutional sales, which she ruled did breach securities laws.

The decision to pause appeals came after Donald Trump returned to the presidency and appointed new SEC leadership. Under this administration, the SEC has closed more than a dozen crypto-related cases in recent months. Ripple and the SEC explored reducing the penalties, but Judge Torres rejected multiple proposals over procedural and other concerns. The outcome leaves Ripple with significant financial penalties but no additional restrictions beyond those already imposed.

OpenAI Launches Powerful GPT-5 Model
OpenAI, valued at $300 billion and reportedly in talks for a $500 billion share sale, has launched GPT-5—its most powerful and fastest AI model yet. The company says GPT-5 delivers more accurate, PhD-level responses across over 40 professions, with state-of-the-art results in math, coding, and health. Free for all ChatGPT users and available via API, it introduces customizable personalities, upgraded voice features, and integrations with Gmail, Google Calendar, and Contacts.

The release comes amid fierce AI competition from Google, Meta, Anthropic, and Chinese firms like DeepSeek. GPT-5’s development took two years, reflecting shifting industry dynamics and growing talent poaching. CEO Sam Altman calls the update a major step toward AGI, stressing the need for “relentless scaling,” supported by a $500 billion data-center investment plan.

OpenAI’s revenue has doubled in 2025 to a $12 billion run rate, but it faces governance disputes, regulatory scrutiny, and evolving tensions with Microsoft, its largest backer.

Fed Officials Signal Imminent Rate Cuts
A major downward revision to U.S. jobs data has shifted sentiment at the Federal Reserve, with officials like Neel Kashkari and Mary Daly signaling support for rate cuts as the labor market shows signs of strain. The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report erased 258,000 jobs from earlier estimates, pushing unemployment to 4.2% and raising concerns about a sharper slowdown.

Neither Kashkari nor Daly dissented at July’s meeting, but their remarks—alongside Governor Lisa Cook’s—add momentum to calls for easing. Market expectations now put the odds of a September cut at over 93%, with some economists, including Wharton’s Jeremy Siegel, predicting three consecutive 25-bp reductions by year-end. Goldman Sachs sees a potential 50-bp cut if job losses deepen.

The shift comes amid warnings that delaying could expose Chair Jerome Powell to political backlash and even threaten Fed independence, especially if economic growth continues to slow into the second half of 2025.

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