US October CPI exceeded expectations across the board, bringing the probability of a December rate hike close to 100%! The overall US CPI rose 0.4% month-over-month in October, higher than the market expectation of 0.3%; Core CPI rose 0.3% month-over-month, also higher than the expected 0.2%. Although overall inflation slowed from 0.6% in September, core inflation remains stubborn, and price pressures are far from over. The current Federal Reserve interest rate range is 3.75%–4.00%. After the CPI release, the market has largely priced in a 25 basis point rate hike in December, at which point rates could rise to 4.00%–4.25%. High interest rates may persist longer than the market anticipates, and may even tighten further. For risk assets such as BTC, ETH, and US stocks, liquidity expectations will likely come under pressure again.