Alternative Investing Report - December 11, 2025

*as of 12/10 Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, CL50

For the third straight meeting, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter-point, bringing the targeted range to 3.5%-3.75%, which is 1.75% lower than the 2024 peak. The vote, almost always unanimous since 2019, was divided 9-3, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell called the decision “a close call.” His post-announcement remarks also cast doubt on future cuts, saying the current rates are now in “neutral” territory.

➨ TAKEAWAY: Markets had priced in a 90% chance of a cut, so the immediate response to the announcement was positive, with the equities market seeing a small boost. Crypto markets were largely unchanged, and mortgage rates are not expected to move much either. The CME FedWatch tool now projects just a 22% chance of a similar quarter-point cut in January, and between two and three cuts for 2026 as a whole.

🚀 SpaceX IPO: In what would be a blockbuster offering, there are reports that SpaceX is eyeing an IPO in mid-late 2026 that would be the biggest of all time, raising $30 billion at a $1.5 trillion valuation. That price would be nearly four times its last official valuation, and twice the rumored $800 billion valuation a new share sale is being offered at.

🏡 2026 top markets: Hartford, CT, ranks as the top housing market for 2026 by projected year-over-year sales volume and sales price growth, followed by Rochester, NY, and Worcester, MA. All told, 9 of the top 10 come from the Northeast or Midwest, with Richmond, VA the lone exception.

🦛 Hippo Bar sets record: A 1976 work by François-Xavier Lalanne sold for a record-breaking $31.4 million, more than tripling its high estimate of $10 million. The work, which is a bar in the shape of a hippopotamus, is now the most expensive work of design ever sold at auction.

💵 Record private credit deployment: 2024 saw private credit firms deploy $592.8 billion in capital, a 78% annual increase over 2023, and while the data comes with a lag, it speaks to the extent the market has exploded over the past two years.

🪙 Banks can be intermediaries: A new ruling from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will now allow U.S. banks to act as intermediaries in crypto transactions, meaning they can now offer crypto trading services to their customers.

🎨 Turner Prize winner: Nnena Kalu took home the UK‘s top art prize, becoming the first ever first-ever learning-disabled artist to win the award.

In what could be a definitive blow in the fight over AI regulations, President Trump said that he will sign an executive order this week that will block individual states from enacting their own AI rules in favor of one overarching federal policy. While the rule could be a positive result for AI startups, as the Trump administration prefers a hands-off approach, critics from both major parties are worried that AI startups will avoid accountability for potentially harmful products. While companies will benefit from not having to navigate 50 different sets of rules, it could be counterproductive if it removes helpful backstops and creates a free-for-all environment that could inspire backlash when a less-friendly administration takes power down the road.