Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

AI hot stocks like NVIDIA have seen increased volatility, with their relative volatility standing at 4 times that of the S&P 500 index.

The Kobeissi Letter stated in a post that the three-week volatility of U.S. momentum stocks relative to the S&P 500 index has surged to four times, hitting an all-time high. This ratio has more than quadrupled over the past several weeks. The momentum stock group includes high-growth tech stocks at the center of the AI boom, such as NVIDIA, AMD, Palantir, D-Wave Quantum, and CoreWeave. By comparison, the ratio peaked at around 2 times during the 2020 COVID-19 market crash and roughly 1.8 times during the dot-com bubble burst. The current level is significantly higher than those periods. Meanwhile, the U.S. momentum stock index has dropped 24% since July, marking its largest monthly decline since the 2008 financial crisis. The stocks that previously performed the strongest are quickly losing market favor.

4 minutes ago

Changxin Technology's IPO winning numbers have been released, totaling 7,702,207.

According to an announcement by Changxin Technology, the company’s initial public offering (IPO) and listing on the STAR Market has released its offline preliminary placement results and online lottery results. The offering price is RMB 8.66 per share, with an initial share offering size of approximately 6.688 billion shares. A total of 7,702,207 winning lottery numbers have been issued, and each winning number entitles holders to subscribe for 500 Changxin Technology A-shares.

4 minutes ago

Renowned trader closes all crypto short positions, resumes buying Bitcoin spot

Renowned crypto trader Doctor Profit announced in a post that he has closed all his cryptocurrency short positions, including Bitcoin shorts established in the $115,000–$125,000 range, another Bitcoin short in the $79,000–$82,000 range, and over 100 altcoin shorts opened in recent months, noting that all these positions have generated significant profits. He also said he has repurchased Bitcoin spot at $64,000, marking his first long-term allocation since September 2025. His plan is to invest 5% of his planned capital daily in spot Bitcoin purchases when the price is in the $54,000–$64,000 range, for up to 20 days total; if the price approaches $54,000, he will increase his buying activity. Doctor Profit pointed out that the current market is showing clear "herd behavior": investors who were previously bullish on Bitcoin up to $150,000 at high levels are now widely waiting for the cryptocurrency to drop to $40,000–$50,000, and are targeting September or October as the bottom of the four-year cycle. When a large number of investors are waiting for the same price level and time point, the market may not move as expected, so he chose to build positions in advance and judges that this cycle’s bottom may arrive earlier than the market’s general expectation. He also cited regulatory clarity, asset tokenization infrastructure, and progress in institutional adoption as the structural reasons for his shift to buying, and retracted his previous prediction that Bitcoin would fall to $40,000–$50,000. However, he still holds all his S&P 500 short positions, arguing that the crypto market has completed a large repricing, while U.S. stock valuations remain elevated.

4 minutes ago

Binance Wallet’s Meme Rush adds new launchpad filter options for Robinhood Chain-based projects including Virtuals Protocol, Flap, and Bankr.

According to official announcements, Binance Wallet’s Meme Rush has added new launchpad filter options for Robinhood chain projects including Virtuals Protocol, Flap, and Bankr, helping users discover more on-chain token opportunities. Users can now track tokens across BSC, Solana, ETH, Base, and Robinhood chains via Meme Rush, with a single feed to stay updated on multi-chain hotspots.

4 minutes ago

Zcash launches Zakura full node, aiming to boost its privacy transaction throughput to 50,000 per second.

Zcash has launched its new full-node client Zakura 1.0.0, the first implementation component aimed at scaling its private transaction throughput from the current ~1 transaction per second (TPS) to payment-network-level capacity. Maintained by Sean Bowe, an early Zcash zero-knowledge cryptography contributor, and Dev Ojha, head of Valar Group, the client operates independently of the Zcash Foundation and is funded via private ZEC donations. Built on the Zcash Foundation’s Zebra client, the team provides an ~11GB blockchain snapshot, allowing new nodes to sync up in two minutes—an approximately 680x speed improvement. Its compatibility mode also replicates the legacy zcashd interface, enabling wallets and exchanges to continue operating after the original client’s maintenance ends on July 18. The team notes that Visa and Mastercard process over 50,000 transactions per second, a benchmark it has set as its minimum target. To reduce the verification burden of large-scale private transactions, Bowe’s Tachyon project is developing recursive proofs, which let nodes validate thousands of proofs with a single proof. Valar Group is building private information retrieval (PIR) technology, allowing wallets to access relevant transaction data without exposing their query content. Zakura is also testing a fast block propagation system that delivers new blocks to all nodes in half a second. Its upcoming testnet is the Ironwood upgrade, set to activate on the mainnet on July 28. Ironwood will use a "rotating door" mechanism to restrict inflows and outflows of the Orchard privacy pool, mitigating risks of fake ZEC entering circulation due to prior zero-knowledge proof vulnerabilities.

4 minutes ago

Moonshot (Kimi)’s technological breakthrough triggers sell-offs in AI stocks, with leveraged products amplifying market volatility.

According to Bloomberg, Chinese AI startup Moonshot has achieved an unexpected technological breakthrough, triggering sharp declines in global AI and semiconductor stocks on Friday and prompting markets to once again reference the 2025 "DeepSeek Moment". The semiconductor benchmark index has fallen roughly 20% from its June peak, entering a bear market; the triple-leveraged semiconductor ETF SOXL has dropped more than 50% over the same period. This sell-off demonstrates that when rapid advances in AI technology reshape market perceptions of winners and losers, leveraged ETFs, options, single-stock funds, and crypto-related products may be liquidated simultaneously. Bloomberg Intelligence data shows leveraged ETFs make up around 13% of U.S. ETF trading volume but only 1.2% of industry assets. When accounting for embedded leverage, their share of the U.S. stock market remains less than 1%. While these products are generally small in overall size, their holdings are concentrated in AI chips, volatile stocks, and newly listed firms. When leverage, concentration, and volatility rise at the same time, the funds' daily rebalancing turns them into active trading forces that further amplify existing market trends. The South Korean market offers a clear recent case: local retail investors have heavily purchased leveraged products tied to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, and as market sentiment turned weak, the related funds were forced to sell an estimated tens of billions of dollars worth of SK Hynix positions.

4 minutes ago

Binance Coin (BNB) is holding a steady position as buyers protect a key support level, maintaining a cautiously optimistic outlook on the asset. Traders are watching for a decisive breakout that would confirm further upward momentum for BNB’s price.

BNB faces resistance ahead of potential price rallyBNB is currently priced at $571.09. Over the past 24 hours, the token recorded a trading volume of $836.62 million and achieved a market capitalization of $76.04 billion.

Crypto analyst Umair Orakzai observed that BNB’s recent recovery aligns with previously noted liquidity areas of interest. The token climbed by approximately 2% from its support zone, indicating increased buying activity. However, he also noted that the recent bounce did not produce a strong bullish candle close, suggesting cautious optimism persists among market participants.

The price is expected to encounter significant resistance at $581.87. If BNB moves above this level, it could trigger renewed bullish sentiment, potentially driving the token toward $600 and possibly up to $700. If the resistance holds, downside risks may increase as sellers could regain control.

Market observers emphasize that BNB must surpass the $581.87 resistance level to sustain its upward momentum and target higher price points such as $600 and $700.

BNB’s current technical structure supports a conservative outlook until confirmation of a strong breakout is observed.

LevelPriceImplicationCurrent price$571.09Above key supportResistance$581.87Breakout point for bullish reversalTarget range$600 – $700Potential rally targets if resistance breaksTokenized Hong Kong stocks debut on BNB Chain via Stove ProtocolStove Protocol, a decentralized platform specializing in asset tokenization, recently launched tokenized versions of Hong Kong-listed stocks on the BNB Chain. This move gives users the ability to access and invest in Hong Kong equities directly within the blockchain ecosystem, effectively bridging the gap between conventional finance and decentralized markets.

BNB Chain, developed by Binance to support decentralized applications and smart contracts, expands its real-world asset offerings with this new integration. Users now have an on-chain pathway to global stock markets without leaving the broader blockchain environment.

The listing demonstrates growing demand for tokenized assets, reflecting the broader market’s push to merge traditional financial instruments with emerging decentralized platforms.

Mini dictionary: Stove Protocol is a decentralized platform focused on tokenizing real-world assets such as traditional stocks, giving blockchain users a way to invest in legacy market instruments via on-chain solutions.

Together with rising adoption of tokenization and strong technical support levels, BNB may benefit in the long run from the convergence of these financial ecosystems.

With tokenized Hong Kong stocks available through Stove Protocol on BNB Chain, the platform is expanding investment opportunities for blockchain users and strengthening its appeal as a hub for real-world assets.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.

Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.

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Changxin Technology's IPO winning numbers have been released, totaling 7,702,207.

According to an announcement by Changxin Technology, the company’s initial public offering (IPO) and listing on the STAR Market has released its offline preliminary placement results and online lottery results. The offering price is RMB 8.66 per share, with an initial share offering size of approximately 6.688 billion shares. A total of 7,702,207 winning lottery numbers have been issued, and each winning number entitles holders to subscribe for 500 Changxin Technology A-shares.

4 minutes ago

Renowned trader closes all crypto short positions, resumes buying Bitcoin spot

Renowned crypto trader Doctor Profit announced in a post that he has closed all his cryptocurrency short positions, including Bitcoin shorts established in the $115,000–$125,000 range, another Bitcoin short in the $79,000–$82,000 range, and over 100 altcoin shorts opened in recent months, noting that all these positions have generated significant profits. He also said he has repurchased Bitcoin spot at $64,000, marking his first long-term allocation since September 2025. His plan is to invest 5% of his planned capital daily in spot Bitcoin purchases when the price is in the $54,000–$64,000 range, for up to 20 days total; if the price approaches $54,000, he will increase his buying activity. Doctor Profit pointed out that the current market is showing clear "herd behavior": investors who were previously bullish on Bitcoin up to $150,000 at high levels are now widely waiting for the cryptocurrency to drop to $40,000–$50,000, and are targeting September or October as the bottom of the four-year cycle. When a large number of investors are waiting for the same price level and time point, the market may not move as expected, so he chose to build positions in advance and judges that this cycle’s bottom may arrive earlier than the market’s general expectation. He also cited regulatory clarity, asset tokenization infrastructure, and progress in institutional adoption as the structural reasons for his shift to buying, and retracted his previous prediction that Bitcoin would fall to $40,000–$50,000. However, he still holds all his S&P 500 short positions, arguing that the crypto market has completed a large repricing, while U.S. stock valuations remain elevated.

4 minutes ago

Binance Wallet’s Meme Rush adds new launchpad filter options for Robinhood Chain-based projects including Virtuals Protocol, Flap, and Bankr.

According to official announcements, Binance Wallet’s Meme Rush has added new launchpad filter options for Robinhood chain projects including Virtuals Protocol, Flap, and Bankr, helping users discover more on-chain token opportunities. Users can now track tokens across BSC, Solana, ETH, Base, and Robinhood chains via Meme Rush, with a single feed to stay updated on multi-chain hotspots.

4 minutes ago

Zcash launches Zakura full node, aiming to boost its privacy transaction throughput to 50,000 per second.

Zcash has launched its new full-node client Zakura 1.0.0, the first implementation component aimed at scaling its private transaction throughput from the current ~1 transaction per second (TPS) to payment-network-level capacity. Maintained by Sean Bowe, an early Zcash zero-knowledge cryptography contributor, and Dev Ojha, head of Valar Group, the client operates independently of the Zcash Foundation and is funded via private ZEC donations. Built on the Zcash Foundation’s Zebra client, the team provides an ~11GB blockchain snapshot, allowing new nodes to sync up in two minutes—an approximately 680x speed improvement. Its compatibility mode also replicates the legacy zcashd interface, enabling wallets and exchanges to continue operating after the original client’s maintenance ends on July 18. The team notes that Visa and Mastercard process over 50,000 transactions per second, a benchmark it has set as its minimum target. To reduce the verification burden of large-scale private transactions, Bowe’s Tachyon project is developing recursive proofs, which let nodes validate thousands of proofs with a single proof. Valar Group is building private information retrieval (PIR) technology, allowing wallets to access relevant transaction data without exposing their query content. Zakura is also testing a fast block propagation system that delivers new blocks to all nodes in half a second. Its upcoming testnet is the Ironwood upgrade, set to activate on the mainnet on July 28. Ironwood will use a "rotating door" mechanism to restrict inflows and outflows of the Orchard privacy pool, mitigating risks of fake ZEC entering circulation due to prior zero-knowledge proof vulnerabilities.

4 minutes ago

Moonshot (Kimi)’s technological breakthrough triggers sell-offs in AI stocks, with leveraged products amplifying market volatility.

According to Bloomberg, Chinese AI startup Moonshot has achieved an unexpected technological breakthrough, triggering sharp declines in global AI and semiconductor stocks on Friday and prompting markets to once again reference the 2025 "DeepSeek Moment". The semiconductor benchmark index has fallen roughly 20% from its June peak, entering a bear market; the triple-leveraged semiconductor ETF SOXL has dropped more than 50% over the same period. This sell-off demonstrates that when rapid advances in AI technology reshape market perceptions of winners and losers, leveraged ETFs, options, single-stock funds, and crypto-related products may be liquidated simultaneously. Bloomberg Intelligence data shows leveraged ETFs make up around 13% of U.S. ETF trading volume but only 1.2% of industry assets. When accounting for embedded leverage, their share of the U.S. stock market remains less than 1%. While these products are generally small in overall size, their holdings are concentrated in AI chips, volatile stocks, and newly listed firms. When leverage, concentration, and volatility rise at the same time, the funds' daily rebalancing turns them into active trading forces that further amplify existing market trends. The South Korean market offers a clear recent case: local retail investors have heavily purchased leveraged products tied to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, and as market sentiment turned weak, the related funds were forced to sell an estimated tens of billions of dollars worth of SK Hynix positions.

4 minutes ago

Mizuho downgrades Circle to Underperform, cuts its target price to $50

According to Bloomberg, Circle’s stock price has fallen more than 75% from its post-IPO high last year. Dan Dolev, an analyst at Mizuho Securities USA, downgraded Circle this week from "Neutral" to "Underperform", setting a Wall Street-low target price of $50, which implies roughly 18% downside from Thursday’s closing price, well below the average analyst target of $123 tracked by Bloomberg. Dolev argues Circle faces rising competition risks in the stablecoin space. Over 100 fintech firms, payment networks, crypto companies and banks, including Visa, Stripe, Coinbase and BlackRock, are backing the Open Standard project, which will issue OUSD. Circle’s stock fell 7.7% on Thursday, the same day Visa launched a stablecoin issuance, transfer and management platform for financial institutions. Circle generates most of its revenue from interest on USDC’s reserve assets, while new stablecoin initiatives like OUSD plan to share reserve returns with partners and charge lower management fees. Dolev says this business model could draw partners away from Circle, intensifying pricing and margin pressure on the firm. He projects Circle’s adjusted EBITDA for 2027 will hit $699 million, below the consensus market estimate of $907 million. He also noted that Circle and Coinbase’s USDC distribution agreement is set to be renegotiated in August, with Coinbase likely to leverage competitive pressure from OUSD to secure a higher revenue split.

4 minutes ago

Fintech

19 July 2026 | 09:50 OKX Europe now lets eligible EEA users deposit USDT through a dedicated one-way flow and receive USDC, with network selection and transaction review remaining the most important checks before transfer.

Key Takeaways OKX Europe has introduced a dedicated feature for eligible EEA users converting externally held USDT into USDC. USDT deposited through the feature does not become a holdable or tradable balance in the user’s account. The process only works from USDT to USDC and cannot be reversed through OKX Europe. Users must match both the blockchain network and the exact USDT or USDT0 version before transferring funds. OKX Europe has introduced a dedicated feature that allows eligible users in the European Economic Area to deposit USDT and convert it into USDC.

The USDT Convert feature, available since July 17, is not a reopening of ordinary USDT deposits or trading. It accepts USDT through a specific deposit flow for the sole purpose of converting it into USDC.

Users do not receive a USDT balance that can be held or traded after the deposit. The conversion also works in only one direction, meaning the resulting USDC cannot be converted back into USDT through the same service.

That makes the choice of network and token version particularly important. A transfer made through an unsupported blockchain, to the wrong address or with an incompatible version of USDT may not be credited correctly.

What the One-Way Conversion Means The feature is intended for eligible EEA users who already hold USDT in an external wallet or on another platform and want to exchange it for USDC through OKX Europe.

It does not create a new USDT trading pair. Instead, the deposit enters a dedicated conversion process and the user receives USDC after completing the required action inside the feature.

The process can be summarized as follows: 1

The user opens USDT Convert inside the OKX Europe website or app;

2

A supported blockchain network and deposit address are selected;

3

USDT is transferred from an external wallet or another platform;

4

The user reviews the amount displayed by the conversion feature;

✓

The converted USDC is credited to the OKX Europe account.

Because the process cannot be reversed through OKX Europe, users should review the displayed conversion amount and transfer details before confirming.

How to Convert USDT to USDC on OKX Europe 1. Confirm that the account is eligible USDT Convert is available to eligible users located in the European Economic Area who access OKX through its European website or mobile app.

Log in and confirm that the feature is visible in the account before sending any funds. An ordinary USDT transfer is not a substitute for using the dedicated conversion flow.

2. Open the USDT Convert feature Navigate to USDT Convert through the official OKX Europe website or app. The page should state that the incoming USDT will be converted into USDC rather than credited as a USDT balance.

Avoid deposit addresses received through emails, private messages, advertisements or unofficial websites.

3. Select the blockchain network Choose the network through which the USDT will be transferred. The network selected on OKX must match the withdrawal network selected in the external wallet or sending platform.

For example, ERC20 USDT must be sent through Ethereum, while TRC20 USDT must be sent through Tron.

Users should also check the exact token version. Some supported routes accept USDT0, while others accept standard USDT or both versions. A matching network name does not by itself confirm that the token is compatible.

4. Verify the address and send the USDT Copy the address displayed inside USDT Convert and compare its first and last characters with the address entered on the sending platform.

The external wallet or exchange may charge a network or withdrawal fee. Review the final transfer amount and any fee displayed before submitting the transaction.

For a large transfer, making a small test transaction first may reduce the risk of sending the entire balance through the wrong network or to an incorrect address.

5. Review and complete the conversion After the deposit is detected, follow the conversion action displayed inside USDT Convert and review the quoted amount of USDC.

Confirm the transaction only after checking that the deposited amount and expected USDC amount are correct. Once the process is completed, it cannot be reversed through OKX Europe.

Which Networks Does OKX Europe Support? At the time of writing, OKX Europe lists 15 supported network routes for the feature. Estimated arrival times and minimum deposits are not guarantees and may change according to network conditions or platform requirements.

OKX Europe: USDT Convert Networks X Layer
Min: 0.01 USDT

Token: USDT and USDT0

Arrival: ~1 minute

Tron
Min: 0.01 USDT

Token: USDT — TRC20

Arrival: ~1 minute

Ethereum
Min: 0.01 USDT

Token: USDT — ERC20

Arrival: ~7 minutes

Aptos
Min: 0.01 USDT

Token: USDT

Arrival: ~1 minute

Arbitrum One
Min: 0.01 USDT

Token: USDT0

Arrival: ~18 minutes

Avalanche C-Chain
Min: 0.01 USDT

Token: USDT

Arrival: ~1 minute

Berachain
Min: 0.01 USDT

Token: USDT0

Arrival: ~1 minute

Monad
Min: 0.00000001 USDT

Token: USDT0

Arrival: ~1 minute

Optimism
Min: 0.01 USDT

Token: USDT and USDT0

Arrival: ~20 minutes

Plasma
Min: 0.01 USDT

Token: USDT0

Arrival: ~1 minute

Polygon
Min: 0.01 USDT

Token: USDT0

Arrival: ~2 minutes

Solana
Min: 0.01 USDT

Token: USDT

Arrival: ~1 minute

Tempo
Min: 0.00000001 USDT

Token: USDT

Arrival: ~1 minute

The Open Network
Min: 0.01 USDT

Token: USDT — TON

Arrival: ~1 minute

Unichain
Min: 0.01 USDT

Token: USDT0

Arrival: ~25 minutes

The options shown inside the user’s own account should be treated as the final source of truth. Supported networks, token versions, minimum deposits and confirmation requirements may be updated after publication.

Why OKX Europe Introduced the Feature Under MiCA guidance published by ESMA and the European Commission, European crypto platforms were expected to address services involving stablecoins that did not meet the framework’s requirements by the end of the first quarter of 2025. OKX says USDT trading remains unavailable on its European platform because Tether’s issuer has not obtained the required authorization, while Circle’s current MiCA white paper identifies USDC as an electronic money token issued in the EEA by its authorized European entity. The conversion feature does not change USDT’s regulatory treatment on OKX Europe; it only allows eligible users to exchange externally held USDT for USDC.

What to Check Before Transferring USDT The main risks come from incorrect transfer details rather than from the number of steps involved.

Before sending funds, users should verify: ✓

That USDT Convert is available inside their own OKX Europe account;

✓

That the receiving network matches the withdrawal network exactly;

✓

That the selected route supports the precise USDT or USDT0 version being sent;

✓

That the deposit is above the minimum amount shown in the account;

✓

That the destination address has been copied from the official platform;

✓

That the displayed USDC amount is acceptable before the final confirmation.

Blockchain transfers are generally irreversible. Anyone who intends to retain USDT rather than exchange it for USDC should not use the feature, because the conversion cannot later be undone through OKX Europe.

This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal or investment advice. Always verify the blockchain network, token version, address, minimum deposit and conversion terms before transferring digital assets.

Author

Kosta has reported on cryptocurrency markets and blockchain infrastructure since 2020, bringing over six years of hands-on experience in the crypto industry built through daily tracking of markets, trends, and emerging blockchain developments. Specializing in Bitcoin on-chain analysis, institutional ETF flows, and digital asset price action, his work at Coindoo has been cited by other news agencies and consistently covers market developments with a focus on data-driven reporting across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. Over the years, Kosta has contributed to multiple crypto media outlets in different regions, authoring over 6,000 articles across the sector. His reporting spans cryptocurrency markets and the broader fintech industry, tracking not only price action but also the technological and regulatory forces shaping the ecosystem. To support his analysis, Kosta actively leverages on-chain data and metrics from leading platforms such as Santiment, Glassnode, and CryptoQuant, enabling deeper, evidence-based market insights. He believes in the power of transparency and the data that underpins the blockchain ecosystem. His academic background in Marketing Management from Denmark further complements his analytical approach, adding a strong understanding of communication strategy and content positioning to his work.

Jul 19, 2026, 5:37 a.m.

5 min read

Summary

Zakura, a new Zcash full node maintained independently of the Zcash Foundation, launches as a pruned, fast-syncing fork of Zebra with compatibility for the legacy zcashd client ahead of its July 18 end of life.The software is one pillar of a broader effort, alongside Project Tachyon and private information retrieval research, to scale Zcash toward Visa- and Mastercard-level throughput by shrinking verification data and removing wallet performance bottlenecks.Zakura supports the Ironwood (NU6.3) upgrade activating July 28, which introduces a turnstile mechanism to cap withdrawals from the Orchard shielded pool and contain any counterfeit ZEC that may have been created via a long‑standing soundness bug.Those rebuilding Zcash have a dream: to match global payments giants Visa and Mastercard by handling tens of thousands of payments every second while preserving full verifiability and strong privacy guarantees.

The first piece of that plan is Zakura, a new full node software released Wednesday at version 1.0.0. It is maintained by Sean Bowe, a founding member of Zcash's zero-knowledge cryptography, and Dev Ojha, the Osmosis cofounder who now leads Valar Group. Both teams are funded by private ZEC donations rather than by a company or a foundation.

"Our dream is to support the world's payments. Mastercard and Visa handle more than 50k transactions per second; that's our floor. With Zcash's existing cryptography, that volume would demand over 500 MB/s of throughput from the node,” a blog post said. “The current stack won't get us there. The cryptography our teams are developing closes much of that gap.”

A full node is the program that keeps a complete copy of a blockchain, the Zcash ledger, in this case, and independently checks every transaction against the network's rules. Zakura is a fork of Zebra, the Zcash Foundation's node software – meaning it started from the Foundation's official code and was rebuilt from there.

Consensus rules are the shared rulebook every node enforces, the thing that decides which blocks and transactions the whole network accepts as valid. If a node applies different rules, it forks off and stops following the same chain as everyone else.

Pruning, snapshots and compatibilityZakura can also prune, a term for deleting old blockchain data a node no longer needs, and cut disk usage substantially. That shrinks the chain enough that the team publishes ready-made copies of it, about 11 gigabytes with the old data stripped, which a new node can download instead of pulling the whole history from other nodes one block at a time.

That takes a node from nothing to running in under two minutes, which the team says is “680 times faster.”

A compatibility mode further reproduces the interface of zcashd, the original client that reaches end of life on July 18, so wallets and exchange integrations built against it will keep working as is.

Throughput targets and Tachyon’s roleThe reason for building all this is arithmetic.

Mastercard and Visa process more than 50,000 transactions per second, and the team calls that figure '“its floor, not its target.” Zcash's current cryptography would require a node to take in and verify more than 500 megabytes of data every second to keep up, because every private transaction carries a proof, and proofs are large.

That is roughly a full DVD of data arriving every ten seconds, continuously, and no current Zcash software runs anywhere near that. But the missing piece is the reason each bottleneck exists.

Bowe's Project Tachyon is tackling this by working on recursive proofs, in which one proof attests to the validity of thousands of others, dramatically reducing the amount of data that must be checked at consensus.

Under Tachyon, a node verifies a single proof instead of the thousands, which the team says reduces the requirement for consensus data from 100 megabytes per second to 500 megabytes, a level they claim is technically achievable with careful engineering.

Wallet bottlenecks and Valar’s PIR solutionWallets have a different problem. Because Zcash hides who a transaction is for, a wallet cannot ask a server which transactions belong to it without giving itself away. It pulls down everything and tests each one, which is why wallet software tops out at about one transaction per second.

To remove that bottleneck, Valar Group is working on private information retrieval techniques that let a wallet fetch its own data from a server without the server learning which entries were requested.

Fast block propagation Fast block propagation means broadcasting newly mined blocks across a blockchain network as quickly as possible. Zakura is a software layer tasked with that.

It has to move new blocks between nodes fast enough for high‑volume proofs and wallet traffic to matter. It ships with an experimental system aimed at delivering every block to every node in under half a second, which is switched off by default for now.

The near‑term test of these ideas arrives in late July. Ironwood, formally NU6.3, activates on mainnet at block 3,428,143, roughly 8 a.m. Eastern on July 28, and Zakura supports it from release.

Bowe said on July 10 that all major organizations are committed to that height, a week later than originally planned, after exchanges and wallet providers requested preparation time.

How Ironwood came into existenceIronwood exists because of a flaw that nearly broke Zcash in June. The so-called shielded pools are the private side of the network, where amounts and participants are hidden, and a zero-knowledge proof stands in as evidence of the math work.

On May 29, Shielded Labs researcher Taylor Hornby found that the proof circuit for Orchard, the newest shielded pool, contained a soundness bug that let an attacker mint counterfeit ZEC with no onchain trace. The flaw had been live since Orchard activated in May 2022.

Developers disabled Orchard through an emergency response completed June 2, then restored it with a corrected circuit via the NU6.2 hard fork at block 3,364,600 on June 3.

The patch could not account for the four years the hole was open. A zero-knowledge proof reveals nothing beyond the fact that it verified, so the chain holds no record of what any Orchard transaction moved, and nobody can prove counterfeit ZEC was never created.

Ironwood is built to settle that. A so-called ‘turnstile’ at the pool's boundary caps what can leave and what can enter, leveraging the fact that ZEC amounts crossing into or out of shielded pools are public even when the transactions inside are not. Sealing Orchard to new deposits leaves the turnstile as the only exit, and any fake coins inside are stuck there.

In simple terms, honest balances can migrate out over time, while counterfeit coins may be prevented from fully exiting and entering into circulated supply. This setting traps any attempted excess supply at the boundary, restoring reliability of the token’s supply.

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Renowned trader closes all crypto short positions, resumes buying Bitcoin spot

Renowned crypto trader Doctor Profit announced in a post that he has closed all his cryptocurrency short positions, including Bitcoin shorts established in the $115,000–$125,000 range, another Bitcoin short in the $79,000–$82,000 range, and over 100 altcoin shorts opened in recent months, noting that all these positions have generated significant profits. He also said he has repurchased Bitcoin spot at $64,000, marking his first long-term allocation since September 2025. His plan is to invest 5% of his planned capital daily in spot Bitcoin purchases when the price is in the $54,000–$64,000 range, for up to 20 days total; if the price approaches $54,000, he will increase his buying activity. Doctor Profit pointed out that the current market is showing clear "herd behavior": investors who were previously bullish on Bitcoin up to $150,000 at high levels are now widely waiting for the cryptocurrency to drop to $40,000–$50,000, and are targeting September or October as the bottom of the four-year cycle. When a large number of investors are waiting for the same price level and time point, the market may not move as expected, so he chose to build positions in advance and judges that this cycle’s bottom may arrive earlier than the market’s general expectation. He also cited regulatory clarity, asset tokenization infrastructure, and progress in institutional adoption as the structural reasons for his shift to buying, and retracted his previous prediction that Bitcoin would fall to $40,000–$50,000. However, he still holds all his S&P 500 short positions, arguing that the crypto market has completed a large repricing, while U.S. stock valuations remain elevated.

4 minutes ago

Binance Wallet’s Meme Rush adds new launchpad filter options for Robinhood Chain-based projects including Virtuals Protocol, Flap, and Bankr.

According to official announcements, Binance Wallet’s Meme Rush has added new launchpad filter options for Robinhood chain projects including Virtuals Protocol, Flap, and Bankr, helping users discover more on-chain token opportunities. Users can now track tokens across BSC, Solana, ETH, Base, and Robinhood chains via Meme Rush, with a single feed to stay updated on multi-chain hotspots.

4 minutes ago

Moonshot (Kimi)’s technological breakthrough triggers sell-offs in AI stocks, with leveraged products amplifying market volatility.

According to Bloomberg, Chinese AI startup Moonshot has achieved an unexpected technological breakthrough, triggering sharp declines in global AI and semiconductor stocks on Friday and prompting markets to once again reference the 2025 "DeepSeek Moment". The semiconductor benchmark index has fallen roughly 20% from its June peak, entering a bear market; the triple-leveraged semiconductor ETF SOXL has dropped more than 50% over the same period. This sell-off demonstrates that when rapid advances in AI technology reshape market perceptions of winners and losers, leveraged ETFs, options, single-stock funds, and crypto-related products may be liquidated simultaneously. Bloomberg Intelligence data shows leveraged ETFs make up around 13% of U.S. ETF trading volume but only 1.2% of industry assets. When accounting for embedded leverage, their share of the U.S. stock market remains less than 1%. While these products are generally small in overall size, their holdings are concentrated in AI chips, volatile stocks, and newly listed firms. When leverage, concentration, and volatility rise at the same time, the funds' daily rebalancing turns them into active trading forces that further amplify existing market trends. The South Korean market offers a clear recent case: local retail investors have heavily purchased leveraged products tied to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, and as market sentiment turned weak, the related funds were forced to sell an estimated tens of billions of dollars worth of SK Hynix positions.

4 minutes ago

Mizuho downgrades Circle to Underperform, cuts its target price to $50

According to Bloomberg, Circle’s stock price has fallen more than 75% from its post-IPO high last year. Dan Dolev, an analyst at Mizuho Securities USA, downgraded Circle this week from "Neutral" to "Underperform", setting a Wall Street-low target price of $50, which implies roughly 18% downside from Thursday’s closing price, well below the average analyst target of $123 tracked by Bloomberg. Dolev argues Circle faces rising competition risks in the stablecoin space. Over 100 fintech firms, payment networks, crypto companies and banks, including Visa, Stripe, Coinbase and BlackRock, are backing the Open Standard project, which will issue OUSD. Circle’s stock fell 7.7% on Thursday, the same day Visa launched a stablecoin issuance, transfer and management platform for financial institutions. Circle generates most of its revenue from interest on USDC’s reserve assets, while new stablecoin initiatives like OUSD plan to share reserve returns with partners and charge lower management fees. Dolev says this business model could draw partners away from Circle, intensifying pricing and margin pressure on the firm. He projects Circle’s adjusted EBITDA for 2027 will hit $699 million, below the consensus market estimate of $907 million. He also noted that Circle and Coinbase’s USDC distribution agreement is set to be renegotiated in August, with Coinbase likely to leverage competitive pressure from OUSD to secure a higher revenue split.

4 minutes ago

Bloomberg: South Korea's stock market is emerging as a key bellwether for global AI stock trading.

According to Bloomberg, South Korea’s roughly $4 trillion stock market has become a key window for fund managers in London, New York and Tokyo to gauge global AI risk appetite. Stock fluctuations in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix continue to ripple through global chip stocks, and some Japanese traders have added the KOSPI index to their daily watchlists. The correlation between South Korea’s market and U.S. tech stocks has grown significantly. Bloomberg data shows the 60-day correlation coefficient between the KOSPI index and the Nasdaq 100 has risen to 0.46, near a two-year high—about three times the 0.16 average over the past five years. Last week, South Korea’s market fell nearly 9% at one point amid renewed doubts about AI demand prospects, with the selloff later spreading to Wall Street; SK Hynix’s American depositary receipts dropped 9.3%. However, high-leverage trading in South Korea has amplified volatility. The KOSPI index has fallen 25% from its June peak, erasing roughly $1 trillion in market capitalization, with both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix down at least 30%. South Korea recently suspended the launch of new single-stock leverage trading products to curb speculation and market volatility. Even so, the KOSPI index is still up 62% year-to-date, ranking among the top of major global markets. Given Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix’s critical positions in the global memory chip supply, multiple institutional players believe that as long as the AI rally persists, South Korea’s stock market will remain an important barometer for global AI and semiconductor trading.

4 minutes ago

Ostium Releases Update on Incident: Price Data Compromised, Traders’ Collateral and Positions Unaffected

Ostium has released an update on its security incident. Its liquidity provider fund pool was attacked on July 15, resulting in a loss of 23,752,746 USDC. Preliminary investigations show that the attacker breached the off-chain infrastructure supplying price data to the protocol, submitted falsified illegal price reports, and extracted artificially generated profits from the fund pool by rapidly opening and closing multiple large positions. Ostium stated that trader collateral is stored in an isolated smart contract and was not affected by the incident, with all trading positions remaining open. The team suspended trading and froze all trading contracts within 60 minutes of the first attack transaction. Currently, Ostium is collaborating with Mandiant, zeroShadow, Collisionless, SEAL 911, and law enforcement agencies, and coordinating with exchanges, bridge contracts, and stablecoin issuers to advance the investigation. The engineering team is focused on fixing and strengthening relevant infrastructure to support the safe resumption of trading. Ostium said it will provide at least 24 hours’ advance notice before unfreezing trading contracts. After trading resumes, existing positions will be marked at the price when they reopen, unaffected by price fluctuations during the suspension period. Supporting affected liquidity providers and safely resuming trading remain the top priorities.

4 minutes ago

Kylian Mbappé had one of those first halves you’d rather forget. Zero goals, zero assists, and a single shot on target against England in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. By football standards, it was a quiet 45 minutes. By crypto standards, it was apparently enough to move markets.

The tokens that show up whether he does or not Unauthorized Solana-based meme tokens carrying Mbappé’s name, including $MBAPPE and $MBAPEPE, have developed a pattern of spiking in trading volume around his World Cup appearances. Neither token has any official connection to Mbappé or his representatives. No endorsement exists. No partnership was announced. The tokens exist purely because his name does.

The dynamic isn’t new for Mbappé specifically. In August 2024, a prior $MBAPPE token on Solana briefly hit a market cap of $464 million after hackers compromised his X account and posted about it. The token then collapsed.

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The July 2026 match window produced no new official blockchain announcements from Mbappé’s camp. What it did produce was the familiar pattern: a high-profile match, a recognizable name, and traders willing to speculate on both.

His actual crypto footprint is more serious than the meme coins suggest Since June 2022, Mbappé has served as both ambassador and equity investor in Sorare, an Ethereum-based NFT fantasy football platform where users collect and trade digital player cards. Rare Mbappé cards on the platform have sold for as much as $66,850, which puts them in the same conversation as high-end physical trading cards rather than speculative tokens.

The equity stake is the more interesting part. Mbappé isn’t just lending his face to the platform for a check. He has skin in the game, which gives Sorare a different credibility than the typical athlete-brand-deal arrangement.

What this means for traders watching the World Cup The $464 million peak from the 2024 hack episode is the cautionary data point that should frame any conversation about these tokens. That figure represents what happens when celebrity association and artificial urgency combine in a low-liquidity environment. It also represents what happens next: a rapid collapse back toward zero once the moment passes.

Mbappé’s Sorare investment provides a contrast worth noting. The NFT fantasy sports market operates on slower cycles, with card values tied to season-long performance metrics rather than single-match headlines. That structure doesn’t produce $464 million meme spikes, but it also doesn’t produce the corresponding crashes.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Kylian Mbappe put two past the keeper in a World Cup 2026 knockout stage match, extending his remarkable tournament goal tally to 19 across his World Cup career. That’s the sports headline. Here’s the crypto headline: Solana meme tokens bearing his name immediately went haywire.

Look, we’ve seen this movie before. An elite athlete does something spectacular on the world stage, and within minutes, degens on Solana are trading tokens named after the moment. This time it’s $MBAPPE and $MBAPEPE, two unauthorized tokens that have seen trading volume spikes tracking almost perfectly with the French forward’s goal output during the tournament.

The real-time Mbappe effect Neither token is endorsed by Mbappe, FIFA, or any entity remotely associated with the World Cup. They’re pure speculation vehicles, born from the same impulse that produces a new token every time Elon Musk tweets a dog emoji. The difference here is that the catalyst is happening on a global stage watched by billions.

Beyond the meme token circus, Mbappe’s performance is also juicing the Sorare NFT market. A rare Sorare Mbappe NFT card sold for $66,850 during a bidding war amid the tournament excitement, with one buyer reportedly signaling a $150,000 asking price.

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This isn’t entirely surprising if you know the backstory. Mbappe became an investor in and brand ambassador for Sorare back in 2022. That partnership announcement alone triggered a 795% surge in NFT sales on the platform within 24 hours.

Kraken, W26, and the World Cup’s crypto infrastructure FIFA announced Kraken as the Official Crypto Exchange Supporter of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on June 9, 2026. That’s a major exchange getting official branding rights alongside one of the most-watched sporting events on earth.

Meanwhile, a new Solana memecoin called W26 has launched specifically to drive on-chain fan engagement around the World Cup. The token is trying to position itself as a community layer for football fans who want to interact with the tournament through crypto rails.

None of these tokens, not $MBAPPE, not $MBAPEPE, not W26, carry any official endorsement. They exist in that familiar gray zone where sports enthusiasm meets crypto speculation.

What this means for investors The Mbappe effect highlights something genuinely interesting about where sports and digital assets are headed. His Sorare partnership demonstrated measurable, repeatable impact on NFT trading volumes. That 795% spike from 2022 wasn’t a one-off fluke. His World Cup performances are generating similar surges years later.

For anyone watching the Sorare market, a $66,850 sale for a single player card during an active tournament suggests that the sports NFT vertical isn’t dead. It’s just concentrated around a handful of genuinely elite athletes whose performances create real demand spikes.

The more significant signal here is Kraken’s official World Cup partnership. When a regulated exchange lands sponsorship rights to football’s biggest tournament, it normalizes crypto exposure for an audience that might never have opened a wallet.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Solana [SOL] has not had a strong price trend in recent weeks. In fact, it shed 4% of its value over the past week. And yet, over the past month, it was up by 4.8%. The recent losses came after the altcoin’s rejection at the $84 local resistance level.

Source: CryptoQuant The average order size of executed spot trades has increased over the past six months too. It is calculated by dividing the total trading volume by the number of trades.

The hike in average size was likely also a product of a decline in the number of trades. As the average size increases into big whale orders territory, the metric lights up green, signaling potential accumulation.

The same trends were seen from February-April, but did not lead to a sustained recovery above $100. Solana is likely heading towards a similar outcome.

Solana under pressure from distribution trends Lookonchain reported that Pump.Fun sold another $6.15 million worth of SOL in recent hours, bringing their total sales to just over $800 million, at an average token price of $169.

Source: Ali Charts on X Crypto analyst Ali Martinez used data on the number of whale wallets to demonstrate a fall in whale interest. The analyst noted a 3.6% decrease in the number of Solana whale wallets since May.

This represented a decrease in 200 whale wallets. If network-wide accumulation was underway, as the big whale order metric suggested, the number of whale wallets should have increased.

Hodlers may be increasing their holdings, but the lack of conviction from whales is still a concern.

Expected short-term SOL price trends A recent AMBCrypto report highlighted why the $84-$90 area is a stern supply zone. Morgan Stanley activated spot trading for Solana through its E*TRADE platform too.

And yet, this development has not so far catalyzed a boost in demand for the altcoin.

Source: CoinGlass The liquidation heatmap of the past month highlighted the same. The $84-$86 area, in particular, appeared to be a dense cluster of short liquidations. To the south, the $70-$73 zone was much closer to the price and likely the imminent price target.

The liquidation map made it clear that a sweep of the $85 and even the $90 regions was possible. Hence, traders leaning bearishly in the short-term should be aware of the potential for a short squeeze.

Final Summary The number of Solana whale wallets has declined by 3.6% since May, indicating a lack of conviction. At press time, short-term price trends remained bearishly poised and a move to $70 could occur soon.

Solana has held a broad weekly trading range between $67.50 and $106 for the past five months, maintaining a structure closely watched by technical analysts and market participants. The current price movement follows a volatile period in June when Solana tested the lower end of this range but failed to break below it amid heavy selling pressure.

Key levels and trader outlookThe lower boundary of Solana’s range is anchored at $67.50, with the upper boundary near $106. Crypto trader Ansem reported that Solana recently reclaimed this range after briefly dipping towards the lows during a high-volume selloff. This shift in price structure has kept the larger range intact despite persistent volatility.

According to Ansem, the mid-$70 area may act as a support zone where Solana could form a higher low in the coming weeks. However, he remains cautious, suggesting price action will remain uneven until the asset decisively surpasses the upper range resistance near $106.

Currently, Solana is retesting a resistance zone between $81.50 and $88. Market observers note that a sustained move above this area could signal further upside and strengthen the recovery thesis.

Solana’s attempt to break down from its weekly range coincided with high market fear and notable selling pressure, but the coin has since reclaimed these levels, shifting the short-term structure and keeping the broader range active.

If Solana were to break below the range low at $67.50, analysts expect the recovery outlook to weaken significantly. Until then, most traders continue to focus on the prevailing range.

LevelPrice RangeMarket SignificanceSupport$67.50-$75.00Key demand and higher low zoneResistance$81.50-$88.00Immediate test areaRange High$106Major breakout targetExtended Target$150Q3 potential if $106 is clearedDaily and hourly chart analysisOn the daily timeframe, Ansem indicated that most trading activity recently occurred between $78 and $92, with the primary point of control near $85. This area closely aligns with a former resistance level where rallies lost momentum. He also confirmed that the sharp price drop from $83 to $60 in early June has now been retraced, suggesting Solana has absorbed previous downside weakness.

Ansem mentioned that if Solana posts daily closes above the June highs around $83, buyers may push toward the key range high near $106. He added that failed breakdowns historically tend to result in tests of the opposite end of the established range.

On the hourly chart, demand is concentrated between $72 and $75, identified as a short-term support zone that may serve as a launchpad for further gains if it holds in the coming sessions. Ansem set a stop-loss at $71 for invalidation of this potential upward move.

If Solana maintains support above $72-$75, traders point to $83-$85 as the immediate upside goal. A breakout above this area could return the focus to $106, the top of the current multi-month range.

Mini dictionary: Ansem is a pseudonymous cryptocurrency market analyst known for providing technical analysis and trading insights on X, particularly focusing on major digital assets like Solana and Ethereum.

Looking ahead, Ansem outlined $150 as a possible extended target for Solana later in the third quarter, contingent upon a breakout above the $106 range top. Until a decisive move occurs, market participants are closely watching how Solana behaves around $72-$75 support and the nearby resistance band between $83 and $88.

Should Solana achieve daily closes above June’s $83 highs, the range high at $106 would become the next focus, with further upside to $150 possible if momentum continues through Q3.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

Rather than just investing in cryptocurrencies, SBI Holdings is establishing itself as one of Asia’s top providers of digital asset infrastructure.

By purchasing Coinhako, SBI is acquiring a licensed cryptocurrency platform with a well-established clientele throughout Southeast Asia. 

Additionally, the deal accelerates SBI’s regional expansion by strengthening its position in Singapore, one of the most crypto-friendly but strictly regulated markets in the world.

SBI’s long-term plan That said, the purchase aligns with SBI’s long-term goal of establishing a “global corridor for digital assets.”

This is because moving funds or investments across borders has historically involved several middlemen, currency conversions, settlement delays, and increased costs. To lessen these frictions, SBI plans to employ blockchain technology. 

Remarking on the same, Coinhako co-founder and CEO Yusho Liu said, 

For the past 10 years, we have built from the ground up Southeast Asia’s most trusted and legally compliant cryptocurrency platform in the world’s most advanced regulatory environment.

How will Coinhako boost SBI’s stablecoin plan?  Additionally, Coinhako would help SBI strengthen its stablecoin aspirations. For context, SBI had introduced JPYSC, a stablecoin denominated in yen, earlier this year.  However, due to its inability to be withdrawn to external wallets, JPYSC currently circulates only within the SBI ecosystem.

Nevertheless, if technical advancements and regulatory approvals permit wider interoperability, incorporating Coinhako’s exchange and customer network may eventually be beneficial. 

What’s more?  Notably, the acquisition is a component of SBI’s larger expansion into the cryptocurrency space. It comes after Bitbank was purchased, EDX Markets and Gauntlet were invested in, and its JPYSC stablecoin was introduced. This further coincided with the announcement of a recent partnership between SBI Holdings and the Solana Foundation. 

The collaboration aims to create yen-backed stablecoins, tokenized assets, cross-border payments, and institutional services by fusing Solana’s quick, inexpensive blockchain with SBI’s financial and regulatory know-how.

Final Summary SBI Holdings new plan aims to ease cross-border transfers without several middlemen, currency conversions, settlement delays, and increased costs. The acquisition of Bitbank, investments in EDX Markets and Gauntlet, and the introduction of its JPYSC stablecoin are some of SBI’s crypto tides. 

Cover image via U.Today Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.

Shiba Inu layer 2 Shibarium saw an uptick in daily transaction count heading into the weekend, sparking optimism following a period of stagnation on the network.

Shibarium daily transactions rose from 939 on July 16 to 2,960 on July 17, a 216% increase. This wouldn't be the first time this week Shibarium has seen such an uptick in transactions. Shibarium saw a 322% surge when transactions rose from 759 on July 14 to 3,210 on July 15 before retreating. A similar trend was seen when transactions rose 361% on July 10, according to Shibariumscan.

The recent rise suggests an increase in user activity and that Shibarium could be regaining momentum after periods of slower activity.

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Given the trend of brief transaction spikes on the network, it will be worth watching whether the recent rise marks a turning point for Shibarium L2 activity. A sustained increase in daily transactions over the coming days or weeks might provide significant evidence that Shibarium's network usage is improving.

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On the other hand, if activity returns to the previous baseline, the recent rise may suggest a temporary surge.

SHIB newsThis week, $1.9 trillion asset manager T. Rowe Price launched what it says is the industry's first actively managed multi-token spot crypto ETF, offering diversified exposure to digital assets.

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The T. Rowe Price Active Crypto ETF (TKNZ) began trading on Thursday, giving investors exposure to a portfolio of crypto assets rather than a single token. The cryptocurrency lineup includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, XRP, and Shiba Inu.

In a recent development, Japan passed major amendments to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA) on July 15, which labels cryptocurrencies as investment products. The aim is to provide a regulatory framework that will boost engagement from banks, securities firms, asset managers, and institutional investors while increasing investor protection.

Shiba Inu, which is already on the Japan JVCEA Green List — which makes it easier for regulated platforms in the country to list SHIB — might stand to benefit from the recent move.

Are the "Magnificent Seven" dead?

The seven trillion-dollar-plus tech stocks that produced market-crushing returns for years have had a rough year. Only two are outperforming the Nasdaq Composite so far in 2026, and only three are outperforming the S&P 500.

But when a stock's price drops, it's a good time to take a second look. So let's check to see which of the Magnificent Seven has the best risk/reward profile right now.

Image source: Getty Images.

We'll start at the bottom (from a market cap standpoint) and work our way to the top.

7. Tesla Risk Rating: Very High

Reward Potential: Very High

Today's Change

(

-2.47

%) $

-9.66

Current Price

$

381.41

Tesla (TSLA 2.47%) is in limbo right now. The electric carmaker may not be (primarily) a carmaker for much longer. CEO Elon Musk seems intent on refocusing Tesla into an autonomous driving and robotics company, and rumors are swirling that he's planning a merger between Tesla and his new (and larger, at least on paper) company, Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX 5.41%) or SpaceX.

If Musk and Tesla can actually achieve their ambitious goals of creating self-driving taxis and a humanoid robot army, the company's stock is likely to go parabolic. But at the moment, that looks like a big "if."

6. Meta Platforms Risk Rating: High

Reward Potential: High

Today's Change

(

-2.79

%) $

-18.53

Current Price

$

646.01

Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META 2.79%) is struggling to define itself. CEO Mark Zuckerberg's dream of an online "Metaverse" seemed appealing when we were all stuck at home during the pandemic. But a few years and millions of unsold VR headsets later, the company is pivoting toward -- what else? -- AI.

Now trading at 18% off its highs, Meta's reward potential is high in part because expectations are so low. The company is late to the very expensive AI party, but it certainly has the cash flow to shake things up a bit. The risk here is whether the potential long-term gains will be worth the big upfront costs.

5. Amazon Risk Rating: Moderate

Reward Potential: Moderate

Today's Change

(

-1.06

%) $

-2.66

Current Price

$

247.23

While people usually think of Amazon (AMZN 1.06%) as an e-commerce company, most of its profits come from its AWS cloud computing arm. The big growth engine for the company is tech as opposed to online shopping.

Amazon's risk rating is moderate because neither its e-commerce business nor its dominant cloud computing arm are going anywhere. It has eagerly jumped into the AI race, with its AI-powered AWS services appearing to be bearing fruit. But the potential AI rewards may be more limited for Amazon than for some of the other players in the space, which could limit the stock's upside.

4. Microsoft Risk Rating: Moderate

Reward Potential: High

Today's Change

(

-1.67

%) $

-6.68

Current Price

$

394.42

Of all the Magnificent Seven stocks, Microsoft's (MSFT 1.67%) has fallen the most from its high. But Microsoft's products and services are still raking in money hand over fist. Plus, its investments in AI -- through its 27% ownership stake in OpenAI and its Copilot AI integrations -- seem among the likeliest to reap the benefits of its AI spend.

However, "most likely" doesn't mean "guaranteed." The same concerns about AI capital spending that apply to the other hyperscalers also apply to Microsoft. If AI as a whole fizzles, Microsoft investors will be left holding the bag.

3. Alphabet Risk Rating: Moderate

Reward Potential: Very High

Today's Change

(

-2.05

%) $

-7.26

Current Price

$

347.20

Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL 2.05%) churns out massive amounts of cash through YouTube and Google Search ads. Its AI efforts, like the Gemini chatbot and Nano Banana image creator, have put it in the top tier of AI companies as well.

If Google can maintain its status as a top-tier AI hyperscaler over the long term, the reward potential is very high, but it'll require significant spending.

2. Apple Risk Rating: Low

Reward Potential: Moderate

Today's Change

(

0.26

%) $

0.88

Current Price

$

334.14

Apple (AAPL +0.26%) struggled for years to keep pace with the generative AI race, but now it seems to be throwing in the towel in favor of better on-device processing of third-party AI software. To be honest, that's probably not a bad move for the device maker. While it lowers the potential rewards for the company, it also substantially lowers the risk of overspending. Apple looks to be a solid lower-risk pick.

1. Nvidia Risk Rating: Low

Reward Potential: Very High

Today's Change

(

-1.97

%) $

-4.09

Current Price

$

203.31

Currently the largest company in the world, chipmaker Nvidia's (NVDA 1.97%) stock has taken a hit as investors (again) question whether AI spending is sustainable. If it is, Nvidia is almost certain to continue reaping massive rewards as hyperscalers fight to be first in line for its high-end AI GPUs and other offerings.

Even if AI spending plateaus, Nvidia's top-of-the-line processors will almost certainly be in high demand for whatever the Next Big Thing ends up being. With its stock currently 13% off its high, Nvidia's low-risk/very high-reward profile is currently the best of the Magnificent Seven stocks.

Netflix (NFLX 7.26%) can't catch a break. The streaming leader was already having a tough year, but its second-quarter update, which it released on July 16, sent its share price even lower. The stock is now down 24% this year and 42% over the past 12 months. Netflix's second-quarter results were not terrible, not by a long shot. The company's revenue increased by 13.4% year over year to $12.6 billion, while its earnings per share climbed 11% to $0.80.

However, Netflix's third-quarter guidance of $12.9 billion, which would represent a 11.7% year-over-year increase, fell short of Wall Street's projections. That said, even with the headwinds it is facing, Netflix looks like an attractive stock to buy on the dip. Let's consider two reasons why.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Potential growth opportunities Netflix remains one of the top players in the streaming market. However, the company has not yet established itself in several industry niches, including sports streaming. In its second-quarter letter to shareholders, Netflix noted a negative impact on its business during the first half of the year due to the Winter Olympics and the FIFA World Cup, which it does not own the rights to. Many investors see this as a bearish sign. I disagree. The fact that these events are harming Netflix's business highlights that, provided the company can make significant headway in sports streaming, it could meaningfully grow engagement and paid subscriptions. And the company has already started making progress toward that goal.

Today's Change

(

-7.26

%) $

-5.40

Current Price

$

68.95

In recent years, Netflix has livestreamed football games and boxing fights. That may just have been the beginning. The company is reportedly planning to bid for the rights to the 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cups. It likely will seek out other opportunities as well, and given that it has a much stronger brand name than most streaming specialists, it could be just as successful as them -- if not more so -- once it establishes a strong library of content in this space. And that's just one of many opportunities it could pursue.

2. The price is right Given Netflix's post-earnings dip, the company is now trading at attractive levels. The stock is cheaper than it has been over the past two years, at least going by its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio.

NFLX PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts

The average forward P/E for information technology stocks is 21.6. Some may argue that Netflix is cheap because growth is slowing down and its prospects aren't as attractive as they once were. But every time the streaming giant has found itself in a similar situation, it has turned things around. My view is that Netflix will do the same thing this time, given the large, untapped opportunity in streaming and advertising.

The upcoming World Cup final is anticipated to provide a moderate boost to US sports betting operators in the third quarter, particularly if underdog Argentina defeats Spain. Adam Greenblatt, CEO of BetMGM, discussed the potential impact on major sportsbooks such as DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM itself.

PODD Investors Have Opportunity to Lead Insulet Corporation Securities Fraud Lawsuit PR Newswire NEW YORK, July

AeroVironment Deadline: AVAV Investors Have Opportunity to Lead AeroVironment, Inc. Securities Fraud Lawsuit PR Newswire

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - July 18, 2026) - WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of common stock of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE: BMI) between April 18, 2024 and April 16, 2026, inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important August 3, 2026 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Badger Meter common stock during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Badger Meter class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/cases/badger-meter-inc/join or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than August 3, 2026. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered billions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period, defendants made materially false and misleading statements concerning the drivers of Badger Meter's "record" financial results, demand for Badger Meter's products, and its prospects for continued growth. During the Class Period, defendants told investors that Badger Meter's strong financial results reflected "ongoing favorable industry trends," "secular growth drivers," and "solid operating execution." They likewise touted "strong" demand and said they were seeing "robust order pacing and a strong bid pipeline that positions us well for continued sales and earnings growth," and that Badger Meter possessed a "long runway" for growth.

According to the lawsuit, these statements were materially false and misleading. In truth, Badger Meter's financial results during the Class Period were at least partially attributable to Badger Meter's practice of pulling-forward customer orders to recognize revenue early, which concealed weakening demand and deteriorating near-term order trends. This practice also depleted revenue otherwise available for future periods, ultimately causing the disappointing financial results Badger Meter later reported. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Badger Meter class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/cases/badger-meter-inc/join or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

-------------------------------

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.
Phillip Kim, Esq.
The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-1060
Toll Free: (866) 767-3653
Fax: (212) 202-3827
[email protected]
www.rosenlegal.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/305729

Source: The Rosen Law Firm PA

Ready to Announce with Confidence? Send us a message and a member of our TMX Newsfile team will contact you to discuss your needs.

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New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - July 18, 2026) - WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of common stock of Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE: PLNT) between November 6, 2025 and May 6, 2026, inclusive (the "Class Period"). A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than September 14, 2026.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Planet Fitness common stock during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Planet Fitness class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/cases/planet-fitness-inc/join or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than September 14, 2026. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered billions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period, defendants made materially false and misleading statements and/or concealed material adverse facts concerning the true state of Planet Fitness' customer acquisition and marketing metrics. Notably, Planet Fitness' updated marketing messaging was failing to resonate with, and was actively intimidating, its core target demographic of fitness beginners and casual gym-goers. As a result, Planet Fitness was experiencing a significant headwind in net member joins during its peak first-quarter sign-up period that rendered its previously issued fiscal 2026 guidance and long term financial targets unachievable. Instead, Planet Fitness would be required to restructure its marketing strategy, losing the gains they praised from continuing the same marketing campaign, and entirely halt the planned Black Card price increase which sale projections were premised upon. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Planet Fitness class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/cases/planet-fitness-inc/join or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

-------------------------------

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.
Phillip Kim, Esq.
The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-1060
Toll Free: (866) 767-3653
Fax: (212) 202-3827
[email protected]
www.rosenlegal.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/305717

Source: The Rosen Law Firm PA

Ready to Announce with Confidence? Send us a message and a member of our TMX Newsfile team will contact you to discuss your needs.

Contact Us

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- $SOLS--SOLS Investors Have Opportunity to Join Solstice Advanced Materials, Inc. Fraud Investigation with the Schall Law Firm.

NEW YORK, July 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities of Futu Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: FUTU) between May 24, 2023 and May 27, 2026, inclusive (the “Class Period”), of the important August 25, 2026 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Futu securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Futu class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/cases/futu-holdings-limited/join or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than August 25, 2026. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered billions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs’ Bar. Many of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period, defendants made materially false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Futu was not in compliance with the requirements of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (the “CSRC”), including because Futu continued to conduct securities business, public fund sales business and futures business in mainland China without obtaining the requisite licenses or approval; (2) as a result, Futu was reasonably likely to face regulatory penalties, including the disgorgement of ill-gotten gains and other penalties; (3) as a result of the foregoing, Futu’s financial results were overstated; and (4) as a result of the foregoing, defendants’ positive statements about Futu’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Futu class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/cases/futu-holdings-limited/join or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor’s ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

-------------------------------

Contact Information:

        Laurence Rosen, Esq.
        Phillip Kim, Esq.
        The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
        275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
        New York, NY 10016
        Tel: (212) 686-1060
        Toll Free: (866) 767-3653
        Fax: (212) 202-3827
        [email protected]
        www.rosenlegal.com

Alphabet (GOOG 2.06%) (GOOGL 2.05%) has a major event coming up: its second-quarter earnings report. This is one of the few times investors get each year to peek under the hood of a business, and with Alphabet delivering strong results in Q1 2026, investors want to see if it can back them up in the second quarter.

I think the stock is a must-buy before the company reports earnings, as there are some things that could cause the stock to skyrocket.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Alphabet's cloud computing business takes center stage The biggest thing I'll be watching is Alphabet's cloud computing growth. Cloud computing is becoming a huge part of Alphabet's business, with Google Cloud emerging as one of the top platforms to build and run artificial intelligence (AI) models on. Last quarter, revenue soared 63% to $20 billion.

That blew expectations out of the water, and I'm confident Alphabet will do it again this quarter. Alphabet is spending hundreds of billions on data center construction to meet demand. However, it still doesn't have enough to fulfill it all. Another reason Google Cloud will experience growth is the sales of its custom TPUs. These custom chips offer competitive advantages over GPUs in some applications, and Alphabet is starting to sell them to select clients. This is an entirely new part of its business that emerged last quarter, and it could grow to become an even larger part over the next few years. A booming cloud computing revenue growth rate will confirm the AI build-out thesis and convey an all-is-well message to investors. On the flip side, if cloud growth is slow, it could sound an alarm among investors.

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Alphabet's core advertising business will also be under the microscope, as investors want to know how shifting advertising trends powered by AI are affecting the core Google search business. Last quarter, it didn't have any negative effect, and revenue soared 19% year over year -- pretty good for a business that was left for dead only a year ago.

But why is Alphabet a buy before July 22? I think its stock is priced to soar following earnings. At 25 times forward earnings, Alphabet stock isn't the cheapest around, but it still trades at a discount to some of its big tech peers despite offering a brighter future and a higher growth rate.

GOOGL PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts

Stocks like Amazon and Apple trade for 29 and 37 times forward earnings, respectively, and are each growing at a much slower pace (both grew at a 17% clip last quarter versus Alphabet's 22%). Alphabet's dominance in the search space, combined with a rapidly growing cloud computing division, makes it one of the most attractive big tech stocks to invest in now, as growth potential is far greater in these industries than in hardware sales (Apple's phones) or e-commerce (Amazon). Although Amazon does have a strong cloud business, it's not growing nearly as fast as Google Cloud.

If Alphabet reports a blowout quarter, I wouldn't be surprised to see the stock skyrocket to a 30 times forward earnings valuation, which would be 20% upside from here. That's a great return in a short time frame, and if Alphabet can crush its earnings, I think it's entirely possible to make that move quickly.

The AI chip trade has cracked this month. Micron Technology has dropped about 32% in three weeks. Broadcom sits roughly 24% below its 52-week high. Even Nvidia (NVDA 1.97%), which has held up better than most, is down about 12% from its high as of this writing.

The fear isn't weak demand so much as who captures it. Chinese AI lab DeepSeek is reportedly developing its own AI chip to reduce its reliance on Nvidia, according to a July 7 Reuters report. OpenAI recently unveiled a custom inference chip of its own, designed with Broadcom. And the big cloud companies keep scaling their in-house silicon programs.

Investors are suddenly asking which chip designer keeps its pricing power in a world where every major AI player wants alternatives.

I'd rather skip that argument entirely. The AI chip stock I'd buy hand over fist in this sell-off is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM 2.96%), the company that manufactures leading-edge chips for nearly every side of the fight.

Image source: TSMC.

A record quarter the market shrugged at Taiwan Semi reported second-quarter results on Thursday, and they were exceptional. Revenue rose 33.7% year over year to $40.2 billion. Net income jumped 77.4% year over year, reaching a fresh record. Gross margin came in at 67.7%, its fourth straight quarter of expansion, up from 59.5% in the third quarter of 2025.

The trajectory matters as much as the levels. TSMC's year-over-year net income growth has accelerated from 35% in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 58.3% in the first quarter of 2026 and now 77.4%. Management expects the momentum to continue, too, guiding for third-quarter revenue of $44.6 billion to $45.8 billion, or roughly 37% year-over-year growth at the midpoint. On the earnings call, management also raised its full-year 2026 revenue growth outlook to slightly more than 40%, up from its earlier call for growth of more than 30%.

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Driving all of this is the company's grip on leading-edge manufacturing. Chips built on 7-nanometer processes and smaller accounted for 77% of wafer revenue in the quarter. And the next wave is just beginning.

"Moving into third quarter 2026, we expect our business to be supported by continued strong demand for our leading-edge process technologies, including the steep ramp-up of our 2-nanometer technology," said chief financial officer Wendell Huang in the company's second-quarter earnings release.

Why not Nvidia? To be clear, I like Nvidia's business. But this particular sell-off is aimed at the exact thing that makes Nvidia's stock work: its pricing power. If DeepSeek, OpenAI, and the cloud giants succeed in designing around Nvidia's graphics processing units (GPUs), Nvidia's growth could slow.

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Taiwan Semi doesn't have that problem. After all, those custom chips still have to be manufactured somewhere, and the leading-edge capacity to build them is overwhelmingly TSMC's.

The company manufactured 12,682 products for 534 customers in 2025. Owning the stock is a bet on AI computing demand itself, not on any one design winning.

What about the cheaper, harder-hit names? Micron trades at about 6 times forward earnings after its plunge. But memory is a deeply cyclical business, and buying it here is a bet that today's unusually strong memory pricing holds.

Broadcom, a genuine winner in custom AI chips, is arguably the closer call. But even down 24%, it trades at about 21 times forward earnings, with its custom-chip momentum already priced in.

Taiwan Semi, meanwhile, trades at about 30 times trailing earnings at its price of around $410 as of this writing -- roughly in line with Nvidia, for a business whose profit growth is accelerating and whose margins keep expanding.

Of course, there are reasons the market hesitated on Thursday. Alongside the record results, management raised its 2026 capital spending plan to $60 billion to $64 billion, at least $4 billion above its prior forecast, and pledged an additional $100 billion investment in Arizona. Spending at that scale could pressure margins over time.

The bigger risks are older ones. Most of the company's production still sits in Taiwan, with all the geopolitical uncertainty that entails. And the semiconductor industry has never stopped being cyclical.

But at this valuation, I think investors are getting the company that manufactures nearly every leading-edge AI chip, at close to Nvidia's multiple, without having to guess which designs win.

With that said, I'd size the position with the geopolitical risk in mind.

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - July 18, 2026) - WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of common stock of Roblox Corporation (NYSE: RBLX) between October 30, 2025 and April 30, 2026, inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important August 7, 2026 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Roblox common stock during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Roblox class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/cases/roblox-corporation-2026/join or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than August 7, 2026. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered billions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the complaint, defendants provided overwhelmingly positive statements to investors while, at the same time, disseminating materially false and misleading statements and/or concealing material adverse facts concerning the true state of Roblox's organic growth potential; notably, that Roblox would see a significant slowdown in its growth rates as enrollment in the age verification rollout would quickly taper, compounding the resulting slowdown in on-platform communication, resulting in app store rating reductions and a swift reduction in organic growth. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Roblox class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/cases/roblox-corporation-2026/join or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

-------------------------------

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.
Phillip Kim, Esq.
The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-1060
Toll Free: (866) 767-3653
Fax: (212) 202-3827
[email protected]
www.rosenlegal.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/305730

Source: The Rosen Law Firm PA

Ready to Announce with Confidence? Send us a message and a member of our TMX Newsfile team will contact you to discuss your needs.

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