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Busy week ahead for major central banks, President Biden’s pledge to support Taiwan, and a slump in cryptocurrencies. A host of central bank [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Busy week ahead for major central banks, President Biden’s pledge to support Taiwan, and a slump in cryptocurrencies. Mega hikes A host of central banks around the world are [set to continue]( raising borrowing costs this week, led by the Federal Reserve, which is expected to [launch a]( rapid-fire attack on inflation, doubling down on its commitment to bring consumer prices under control. Monetary authorities in Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway and the UK will also review their benchmarks, while in the emerging markets, Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan and Turkey will be among those that assess whether their lending rates are in tune with the rest of the world. Taiwan support President Joe Biden said US military forces would [defend Taiwan]( from “an unprecedented attack” as his administration [seeks to]( deter China from increasing military pressure on the democratically elected government in Taipei. Biden has made[ similar statements]( on at least four other occasions as president. China claims Taiwan as its territory, even though the Communist Party has never controlled it, and hasn’t ruled out force to prevent its formal independence. Bitcoin sinks Bitcoin [dropped near]( the lowest level since 2020 as cryptocurrencies fell on worries over a wave of monetary tightening that’s set to stretch from Europe to the US this week. Meanwhile, South Korean prosecutors [signalled that]( Do Kwon, the progenitor of a $60 billion cryptocurrency wipe-out, is at risk of an Interpol red notice and trying to evade redress over a meltdown that roiled digital assets. Risk-off Stocks slid in a [cautious start]( on Monday as investors await a slew of interest rate decisions ahead and after global equities notched their worst week since hitting this year’s low in June. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 contracts dropped 1% as of 5:50 a.m. New York time. In Europe, energy, tech and financial services lagged as all sectors slumped. Investors [are betting]( on deeper inversion in the US yield curve, further losses in stocks and a stronger dollar, the latest MLIV Pulse survey showed. Coming up... It's a quiet start to a busy central-bank week, with markets in Japan closed and the UK observing a holiday for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. Data on Monday includes US NAHB housing market index, and Colombia presents July economic activity. AutoZone (AZO US) will report fourth-quarter earnings. Policy meetings later in the week include the Federal Reserve, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, Swiss National Bank and several others. What we've been reading Here's what caught our eye over the weekend. - The UK mourns [Queen Elizabeth II](. - Ukraine’s Zelenskiy [hints at]( next offensive. - Long-term [credit-card debt](. - Iconic [sports-car maker]( Porsche’s IPO. - The [nail-biting tale]( of the 2022 wine harvest—scorching heat. - US-China [tech rivalry](. - Demand in New York City for [new developments](. And finally, here’s what Joe’s interested in this morning Just over a year ago [in this newsletter](, I wrote that we were seeing what should be the last ever "crypto bull market." My argument was basically that there was enough maturity and differentiation among coins and projects such that they shouldn't all trade in unison. Well a lot's happened since then. For one thing, the bull market has turned into a bear market. Meanwhile, we're experiencing the worst inflation in over four decades now, and yet Bitcoin, which has often been touted as an inflation hedge, has done terribly. And Ethereum just experienced its long-awaited shift to proof-of-stake, which if nothing else cuts its energy use massively, while demonstrating that a loosely decentralized network can undergo major upgrades. So all these developments are happening. And yet... Basically they're all still just tech stocks. Not only are the coins trading in line with each other still, they're still basically trading in line with the Nasdaq 100. Here's a chart: What does this all mean? I think one possibility is that the marginal buyers of cryptocurrencies just doesn't care about any of this stuff. Proof-of-work? Proof-of-stake? The merge? Inflation hedging? The halving? Deflationary monetary policy? What's all that stuff? In other words, it's possible that there's a small coterie of people paying attention to any of this. And that what's really driving price is just the animal spirits of a much larger group of speculators, who are also moving the price of Zoom or Tesla or Meta or whatever else. So speaking of fundamentals, [on the latest Odd Lots podcast](, [Tracy Alloway]( and I talked to [Christine Kim]( of Galaxy Digital about Ethereum's shift from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. Christine is phenomenally clear about The Merge, its technical details, how it happened, and the potential risks of the new network architecture. On some level, the big story here is that the network has dramatically limited its power consumption, making for a real departure from Bitcoin, in one of the most controversial aspects of crypto. But perhaps the bigger story is what it symbolizes, that after years of effort, this sprawling network is capable of undergoing such a dramatic "upgrade". In other words, the fact that it can be done at all is perhaps more interesting than what was done. Whether that will ever matter to price or use of the network is TBD. Check out the episode on [Apple]( or [Spotify]( or elsewhere. Follow Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal on Twitter [@TheStalwart]( Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Five Things - Americas newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](