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Today’s Menu

• Claude Just Became Your Excel Analyst

• US-China Trade Deal Unlocks Crypto Rally

Markets

TODAY IN AI

Claude Just Became Your Excel Analyst

Anthropic released Claude for Excel in beta, letting users interact with the AI assistant through a sidebar that can read, analyze, and modify spreadsheets, alongside new connectors and Skills for the financial industry.

The integration allows Claude to explain spreadsheets, fix formulas, populate templates with new data, or build new workbooks from scratch. Seven new connectors link Claude to financial platforms like Aiera for earnings call transcripts, LSEG for live market data, and Moody's for credit ratings.

Anthropic also debuted several finance-specific Agent Skills, including building cash flow models, company analysis, coverage reports, and more. Claude for Excel and the new Skills are rolling out as research preview to Max, Enterprise, and Teams subscribers before broader release.

AI for spreadsheets has been hot over recent months, with ChatGPT, Copilot, and now Claude all pushing solutions. While others have been more agent-focused, Claude's native Excel access and financial connectors may bring new reliability to an area still waiting for a true AI breakthrough.

When Claude can analyze earnings calls, pull live market data, and build financial models directly in Excel, that's not just a productivity tool - that's replacing entire financial analyst workflows.

TODAY IN CRYPTO

Altcoin ETFs Launch During Government Shutdown

While Washington grinds through its fourth week of government shutdown, Wall Street just pushed four new altcoin ETFs live without waiting for the SEC to reopen its doors.

Starting Tuesday, Bitwise's Solana Staking ETF (BSOL) begins trading on NYSE - the first ETF with 100% direct exposure to spot SOL. Grayscale's Solana Trust converts the next day. On Nasdaq, Canary Capital's Litecoin and Hedera funds also debut, expanding the ETF lineup beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum for the first time.

These funds launched under newly approved listing standards - the same mechanism that could fast-track dozens of pending crypto ETFs even while the SEC remains short-staffed.

Solana Policy Institute president Kristin Smith called it a turning point: "The launch of BSOL demonstrates broad recognition of Solana's role as critical financial infrastructure for the future of the digital economy."

Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas confirmed sudden approvals came after "8-A filings and generic listing standards offered fund issuers an alternative route" to launch without direct SEC review.

The last time ETF approvals hit this fast, Bitcoin and Ethereum saw billions in inflows. Now with altcoins stepping onto the same stage, a broader wave could be forming. The first Bitcoin ETF made Wall Street take crypto seriously. The altcoin ETF wave could make it inescapable.

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Until next time,

Damon James