The Week by the Numbers — Jun 24, 2026
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Crypto and gold gave back a chunk of their big year, the Fed flirted with a rate hike almost nobody saw coming, and — because it's nearly July — the cookout got pricier. Five numbers worth knowing.
Jun 24, 2026
Bitcoin Slid to Around $61,000 This Week — Roughly Half Its October Record Near $126,000, and About $43,000 Below Where It Sat a Year Ago
Bitcoin fell to about $61,000, leaving it down roughly 50% from its October peak near $126,000 and some $43,000 lighter than a year ago. The asset its fans pitch as "digital gold" and an inflation hedge is having a miserable 2026, undone by a dollar that won't weaken and a Fed that won't cut.
Source: CoinDesk / Fortune
Three Weeks Ago We Flagged Gold at a Record $4,546; It Has Since Slid to About $4,000 — Down Roughly 12% — as the "Debasement Trade" That Powered 2025 Quietly Goes Into Reverse
At the start of June this newsletter noted gold at a record $4,546, up about 70% on the year and chasing its best run since 1979. It's since given back roughly 12% to around $4,000, part of a broad retreat from the safe-haven trades that defined last year.
Source: COMEX / LBMA Gold Price / World Gold Council
Markets Now Put the Odds of a Fed Rate Hike This Year at Roughly a Coin Flip — and the Median Policymaker Actually Pencils One In — a Stunning Reversal From the Two Cuts Investors Expected Back in January
After last week's meeting, futures price the chance of a 2026 rate hike at close to 50/50, and the Fed's own median dot now shows a hike rather than a cut. That is a wild turn from January, when two cuts looked like a sure thing — and it's precisely why gold and crypto are bleeding.
Source: CME FedWatch / Federal Reserve Summary of Economic Projections, June 2026
While Almost Every Other Asset Wobbled, the Typical Existing Home Set Another Record in May at $429,300 — the 35th Straight Month of Year-Over-Year Price Gains
The median existing-home price hit a fresh record of $429,300 in May, the 35th consecutive month of annual gains. Stocks correct, crypto halves, gold pulls back — housing just keeps grinding higher, which is wonderful if you own one and brutal if you don't.
Source: National Association of Realtors — Existing-Home Sales, May 2026
The Farm Bureau's Fourth of July Cookout for 10 Hit a Record $7.38 a Head This Week — With Two Pounds of Ground Beef Alone Running $14.06, the Priciest in the Survey's History
A backyard cookout for 10 now runs a record $7.38 per person, with ground beef the single biggest line item at $14.06 for two pounds. Blame the cattle — the U.S. herd is the smallest it has been in 73 years, and you can't fix a shortage measured in calving seasons overnight.
Source: American Farm Bureau Federation — 2026 Fourth of July Cookout Survey