Fighting rampant inflation has become the Fed’s main objective, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s words to the US House Financial Services Committee during his semi-annual testimony might have sparked more than a few fears about a recession. Specifically, it means that the Fed might be ready to cause increased unemployment or even a recession – even if it’s not the Fed’s intention to do so – just to bring down inflation to projected levels. 

G-7 Nations Announce Ban on Russian Gold

US President Joe Biden has confirmed that the G7 nations were going to announce a gold sanction on Russia – the latest in a line of sanctions already made against the state after it launched an invasion of Ukraine. Gold is a major export for Russia, which is the world’s second-largest producer and earns tens of billions from it. Gold is being used by the country to support the Russian ruble, which, despite the sanctions, hit its strongest in 7 years recently. 

$100 Million Lost in Crypto Hack

The latest blow to the floundering crypto industry: a US$100 million hack on Horizon, the blockchain bridge developed by crypto company Harmony. Harmony has released a statement that it was working with the FBI and cybersecurity experts to investigate the hack. This comes in the wake of other high-profile crypto hacks including the $600 million stolen from the Ronin Network, and $320 million from Wormhole.