Federal Reserve Meeting Minutes Summary: Tariffs Bring Significant Uncertainty, Non-Farm Payrolls Revision Intensifies Concerns About Economic Slowdown, Eight Mentions of "Stablecoins"

ChainThink report, August 21, the Federal Reserve released the latest meeting minutes this morning. Regarding inflation prospects, participants generally expected inflation to rise in the short term. They noted that the timing, magnitude, and duration of the impact from this year's tariff increases remain highly uncertain. The downward revision of non-farm data may have intensified concerns among Federal Reserve officials about economic slowdown. "Several participants stated that they expect economic activity growth to remain weak in the second half of the year," said the minutes.

Notably, this Federal Reserve meeting minutes mentioned "stablecoins" eight times. Many participants discussed recent developments and future trends related to payment stablecoins and their potential impact on the financial system. These participants pointed out that with the recent passage of the GENIUS Act (the U.S. Stablecoin Guidance and National Innovation Act), the use of payment stablecoins may increase.

Nick Timiraos, a Wall Street Journal reporter known as the "Fed whisperer," stated that Fed meeting minutes typically do not reveal much new information, but they reinforce publicly available information: first, according to Powell's press conference, the overall sentiment of the committee at the July meeting was hawkish (at least compared to the market); second, the reliance on data and projections became evident, meaning that after the jobs report on August 1, more officials showed openness towards cutting interest rates in September.