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Rallying Through The Downgrade

Key Takeaways

  • The US fiscal outlook continues to deteriorate as the national debt keeps rising
  • Risk markets have shaken off the initial long term yield spikes over the weekend
  • Bitcoin hovers near historic highs as fixed-supply assets benefit from rising liquidity

Digital Asset Commentary

Moody’s downgraded US debt on Friday, making it the last of the three major credit rating agencies to remove the country’s AAA rating. The agency warned that the national debt could rise to 134% of GDP by 2035, up from 98% in 2024. This downgrade comes in the context of former President Trump’s “big beautiful” tax bill, which nonpartisan analysts at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimate would add between $3 trillion and $5 trillion to the current $36.8 trillion national debt over the next decade. To make matters worse, debt reduction efforts through DOGE cuts have fallen short, yielding only $170 billion in savings so far.

Meanwhile, bond yields continue to climb, with the 30-year yield rising above 5% over the weekend and the 10-year yield approaching that level. Unless the US takes meaningful steps to stabilize its fiscal position, we may be heading toward some form of yield curve control to prevent rates from reaching unsustainable levels. In theory, fixed-supply assets like gold and Bitcoin should benefit in this environment.

The SPY, QQQ, and Bitcoin are all now within 5% of their respective all-time highs (ATHs). Bitcoin closed the week at $106,487, its highest weekly close on record. After rallying more than 40% from the post-“Liberation Day” lows in April, BTC may need further consolidation before making a decisive break above the $109K ATH. In contrast, altcoins have underperformed over the past week, mostly holding steady following significant gains in the prior two weeks.

Globally, several companies and governments are accelerating their Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana accumulation strategies. Notably, Strategy (MSTR) continues to purchase more BTC, adding another 7,000 BTC to its holdings last week. While the growing number of entities buying BTC may give off a “late-cycle” vibe, long-term trend metrics suggest otherwise. Current indicators remain well below the overheated levels seen at previous cycle peaks, which were characterized by clear red flags.

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Steven McClurg

Founder, CEO

Prior to founding Canary, Steven co-founded and served as CIO of Valkyrie Investments, whose public funds business was acquired by CoinShares in 2024. He was previously a Managing Director at Guggenheim Partners, overseeing portfolio strategy for fixed income and private equity. He also founded Theseus Capital (acquired by Galaxy Digital) and served as an MD at Galaxy. Steven holds a Master of Science and MBA from Pepperdine University, where he has served as an adjunct professor.

Drew Hill

President, CLO

Drew is a seasoned digital asset attorney with deep expertise in securities law and fund compliance. Before Canary, he was GC and CCO at Valkyrie Investments and a key figure in Frost Brown Todd LLC’s Blockchain and M&A practice. He holds a BA in Finance & Spanish from the University of Oregon and a JD from Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law.

Jamal Pesaran

Co-Chief Investment Officer

Jamal Pesaran, CFA, is Co-Chief Investment Officer for Canary Capital LLC. With 30 years of investment experience, he has extensive portfolio management, trade execution as well as client-facing experience.

As Senior Portfolio Manager with Guggenheim Partners, Jamal helped build the Guggenheim Equities business and developed the income focused and risk-managed strategies with AUM of over $4 Billion. With Morgan Stanley, as Senior PM and CIO for an Ultra High Net worth team, he managed both Active equity, fixed income strategies as well as overall portfolio allocations across alternative assets. Prior to joining Canary Capital, as Head of Capital Markets for Clifton AI, he helped develop and market a Gen-AI platform for Investment Research. His experience includes extensive portfolio management experience as Senior Equity Options Portfolio Manager, across European, US and Asian markets with Goldman Sachs and UBS Securities. He worked in Equity Derivatives Hedge Fund Sales with Lehman Brothers in New York and HSBC in Hong Kong.

He holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson where he was awarded the Edward Carter Fellowship for academic performance in the top 2% of the class.

Josh Olszewicz

VP, Head of Trading

With over a decade in digital asset markets, Josh leads Canary’s trading strategy and research. He previously headed crypto research at BraveNewCoin, was a portfolio manager at Techemy Capital, and served as Head of Research at Valkyrie Investments. Josh holds a BS in Human Biology and an MS in Biotechnology, and formerly taught lab sciences at the university level.

Linnea Steffy

VP, Finance

Linnea leads finance at Canary Capital, overseeing FP&A, fund accounting, and mid-office operations across the firm’s hedge funds, private funds, and ETFs. A strategic finance expert with a decade of experience, she previously managed over $850M+ in operating budgets at Discovery Inc., where she partnered directly with executive and creative leadership on major US networks including HGTV, DIY, and GAC. Linnea began her career at KPMG and holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Amber Reedy

Invetor Relations

Amber has over 15 years of experience driving growth through investor engagement, partnership strategy, and cross-sector business development. She’s known for building long-term relationships with institutional allocators and key stakeholders. Her strength lies in unlocking new revenue streams and delivering measurable outcomes across verticals.

Redding Shelby

ETF Operations Lead

Redding leads ETF operations at Canary Capital, managing daily fund activities across trading, accounting, and finance responsibilities. He is a fund operations professional with over five years of experience in ETF administration and business management. His expertise spans transaction oversight, reconciliations, and compliance for ETFs with exposure to digital assets. At U.S. Bancorp, Redding was instrumental in launching '40 Act ETF products and supporting the administrative needs of a leading national service platform. He excels at identifying and implementing process improvements, and collaborating across business units to drive performance. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Finance from Ouachita Baptist University.

Alexis Busse

Executive Assistant

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a degree in Kinesiology and a certificate in Athletic Healthcare, Alexis serves as Executive Assistant and Office Manager. She brings management experience in hospitality and fitness to her role, supporting executive initiatives and overseeing daily operations to ensure organizational efficiency and seamless coordination across the company.

Dylan Farnick

Associate Trader

With over a decade of experience in digital asset markets, Dylan brings a strategic approach to trading and research. He quickly honed his skills in navigating digital exchanges and futures trading, with research focused on post-mortem analysis. His expertise extends beyond trading to include UI/UX consulting, working on trading interfaces and documentation for various platforms including Kraken and Tradingview, as well as community management, where he provided direct product feedback as a liaison with the crypto trading community.

Bronson Kaufusi

Business Development

A former NFL athlete turned business strategist, Bronson blends on-the-field experience with data-driven leadership. He brings expertise in consulting, real estate, blockchain, and data analytics, and has led initiatives supporting startups and athletic organizations alike. He serves as a board member at UVU, Head of Player Development at OG1 Athletes, and is active in nonprofit and entrepreneurial networks.