Market Signal Briefing

Sangha Renewables has energized a 20-megawatt bitcoin mining facility in West Texas, marking the company's latest effort to pair renewable generation with flexible data-center load. This article is from Theminermag, a trade publication for the cryptocurrency mining industry, focusing on the latest news and research on institutional bitcoin mining companies.

Bitcoin’s long-debated four-year cycle is still playing out, but the forces behind it have shifted away from the halving toward politics and liquidity, according to Markus Thielen, head of research at 10x Research.

Speaking on The Wolf Of All Streets Podcast, Thielen argued that the idea of the four-year cycle being “broken” misses the point. In his view, the cycle remains intact, but it is no longer dictated by Bitcoin (BTC)’s programmed supply cuts. Instead, it is increasingly shaped by US election timelines, central bank policy and the flow of capital into risk assets.

Thielen pointed to historical market peaks in 2013, 2017 and 2021, all of which occurred in the fourth quarter. Those peaks, he said, align more closely with presidential election cycles and broader political uncertainty than with the timing of Bitcoin halvings, which have shifted throughout the calendar over the years.

“There's this uncertainty that the sitting president's party is going to lose a lot of seats. I think that's also the odds now that Trump would lose or Republicans would lose a lot of seats in the House, and therefore, maybe he's not going to push a lot of his agenda through anymore,” he said.

Markus Thielen says four-year cycle is not dead. Source: The Wolf Of All StreetsFed rate cut fails to boost Bitcoin The comments come as Bitcoin struggles to regain momentum following the Federal Reserve’s latest rate cut. While rate cuts have historically supported risk assets, Thielen noted that the current environment is different. Institutional investors, now the dominant force in crypto markets, are more cautious, especially as policy signals from the Fed remain mixed and liquidity conditions tighten.

Furthermore, capital inflows into Bitcoin have slowed compared with last year, reducing the upside pressure needed to sustain a strong breakout. Without a clear pickup in liquidity, Thielen expects Bitcoin to remain in a consolidation phase rather than enter a new parabolic rally.

The shift also has implications for how investors think about timing. Rather than anchoring expectations to the halving, Thielen said market participants should watch political catalysts such as US elections, fiscal policy debates and shifts in monetary conditions.

Arthur Hayes: Four-year crypto cycle is deadIn October, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes argued that the four-year crypto cycle is over, but not because of fading institutional interest or changes to Bitcoin’s halving schedule. He said traders relying on historical timing models to call the end of the current bull market are likely to be wrong, as those patterns no longer reflect how markets move.

According to Hayes, Bitcoin cycles have always been driven by global liquidity, not by arbitrary four-year timelines. Past bull markets ended when monetary conditions tightened, particularly when US dollar and Chinese yuan liquidity slowed. The halving, he said, has been overstated as a causal factor rather than a coincidental one.

Magazine: 2026 is the year of pragmatic privacy in crypto — Canton, Zcash and more

TLDR: 

Fogo cancels $20M token presale, distributing 2% of tokens via airdrop instead.
Fogo Flames points program rewards early testnet users and bridge participants.
Core contributors receive 34% of tokens locked, while community owns 11.25%.
Solana VM blockchain targets 40ms block times and 1,000+ TPS on testnet.

Fogo, an experimental Solana VM blockchain, has canceled its planned $20 million token presale ahead of its January mainnet launch. 

The project will now distribute tokens through an airdrop targeting early adopters and participants in its Fogo Flames points program. The decision emphasizes rewarding community members who contributed during the testnet phase.

The cancellation follows a recent 2% burn of Fogo’s initial token supply, permanently reducing the total supply. 

The airdrop will allocate the same 2% of tokens originally reserved for the presale to loyal supporters. The mainnet launch is scheduled for January 13, when the first rewards will be redeemable.

Fogo Airdrop and Token Distribution Plan
Fogo’s airdrop program will reward Fogo Fishers, Portal Bridge users, and early USDC bridge participants. 

The team stated on X, “We have taken a snapshot of Fogo Fishers, Portal Bridge points holders, and all USDC transfers since the initial presale announcement.” Tokens will be redeemable after the mainnet launch, reflecting the project’s commitment to early community support.

Fogo is cancelling the December 17th presale. Our preference has shifted to allocating more resources to the airdrop.

We have taken a snapshot of Fogo Fishers, Portal Bridge points holders, and all USDC transfers since the initial presale announcement. We will attribute Fogo…

— Fogo (@fogo) December 12, 2025

The project’s tokenomics reveal that 6.6% of tokens are allocated for immediately tradable airdrops. 

Core contributors receive 34% of tokens locked under a four-year vesting schedule, while the Fogo Foundation controls about one-third of the initial supply. Institutional investors such as Distributed Global and CMS Holdings hold 8.77%, and advisors receive 7%.

In addition, 11.25% of Fogo’s tokens were allocated to community ownership through prior Echo crowdfunding sales. 

By distributing tokens via airdrop rather than presale, the blockchain ensures broad and fair participation. The Fogo Flames points program remains central to distributing tokens to developers, community members, and ecosystem participants.

Technical Features and Network Development
Fogo operates on the Solana VM, targeting 40-millisecond block times and over 1,000 transactions per second on its testnet. 

The blockchain will integrate Jump Crypto’s validator client software, a first for any network. This integration aims to reduce malicious MEV while supporting real-time trade execution.

The Layer 1 blockchain is designed to support developers and community members while maintaining high efficiency and network reliability. 

Fogo’s airdrop strategy aligns token distribution with active participation in the ecosystem, encouraging users to engage before the public mainnet launch.

By focusing on airdrops, Fogo shifts away from traditional presales, rewarding early supporters and ensuring meaningful token distribution for its community.

Cover image via www.freepik.com

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.

Sunday's close shows that Bitcoin remains passive and directionless. Meanwhile, large-cap altcoins fall into three categories: those with live catalysts, those trading on rumors and those bleeding capital but not making headlines. XRP falls into the second category, Cardano into the first, and Shiba Inu into the third.

Liquidity remains selective. There is no significant risk-taking or coordinated movement across different markets, nor is there a sense of urgency from buyers. Prices only react when the structure, signal or narrative forces them to.

TL;DRXRP pulled attention from the man with the highest IQ, but liquidity went missing.Cardano lined up a 40% price rise signal and a network catalyst at the same time.SHIB lost over $100 million as buyers stepped aside.XRP receives unexpected prediction from world's highest IQ holderXRP is trading around $2.018 on Binance at the end of the week, down a bit on the day, but still in the same range it has been in since early November. If you look at the daily chart, you will see that there has been a stable sequence of lower highs since the October rejection near $3. There has also been some ongoing downside pressure.

HOT Stories

The only thing that changed this weekend was the focus as YoungHoon Kim, who is known as the world's highest IQ holder, wrote a short comment saying that XRP "might have some movement this weekend." There is no time frame defined, really just some vague language about the token.

Previously Kim was tweeting about Bitcoin, but now his attention seems to have shifted to XRP and some other tokens.

You Might Also Like

Traders were confused about what "short-term" meant. Was he talking about seconds, hours or days? Some were openly wondering if the post was actually serving any purpose. Others agreed they were looking for longs anyway despite the chart not confirming it. The engagement itself was more popular than the information content.

XRP may show short-term movement this weekend.

— YoungHoon Kim, IQ 276 (@yhbryankimiq) December 13, 2025 The statement did not add any useful info from a market perspective. XRP did not break through the resistance. The volume did not increase. Open interest did not spike. There wasn't any visible follow-through candle on the daily chart.

As Sunday comes to a close, XRP is still stuck between a soft floor near $1.98-$2 and overhead pressure starting at $2.28-$2.34. The market has seen this zone reject prices a bunch during November. If it drops below that range, the historical support at the $1.82 area is going to disappear pretty quickly.

Cardano to rocket 40% if this signal validatesCardano finishes the week in a very different position. On the weekly chart, a TD Sequential buy signal from Ali Martinez has shown up, and this usually happens when prices are near their lowest point, not when the trend is continuing. The signal itself does not do anything, but where it's placed is important.

For ADA, everything is now at $0.37. That level is just above the recent lows, and it is like the pivot point where stabilization meets continuation lower. If it holds above that, it will open a path toward the $0.46 region first, then $0.54, representing an upside of about 40% from current levels. If ADA loses it, the signal fails cleanly.

This technical signal comes at a time when the Cardano ecosystem is experiencing its most active week in months. This is due to the launch of NIGHT, the native token of the Midnight Network. NIGHT started trading live right away with support from some big names like Binance, Bybit, Kraken, OKX, KuCoin and Gate.

Source: Ali MartinezIn just one day, NIGHT had racked up more than $1 billion in trading volume and pushed its market capitalization above $1 billion, making it one of the most actively traded assets on major exchanges.

That level of participation is important. It confirms real demand, not thin liquidity spikes. It also puts Cardano back on the map as an active deployment layer instead of a chain that is just wasting a top-10 spot.

ADA has not broken out yet, but it has stopped falling. If you look at the weekly candles, you will see that they are showing compression rather than acceleration lower. Buyers are not really aggressive, but sellers are not in the driver's seat anymore.

This is the kind of setup traders pay close attention to: a defined invalidation level, a clear upside target and a fundamental event that was not even on the radar a week earlier. If $0.37 holds, the chart does the rest of the talking.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) down $110 million in 24 hours: What's going on?The Shiba Inu coin ends the week on a quiet note, without any major headlines or panic, but with some noticeable damage.

According to CoinMarketCap, SHIB's market capitalization dropped from $4.97 billion to $4.86 billion in just one day, wiping out around $110 million in value. The move was more of a controlled exit than a forced liquidation, which is why it did not unfold suddenly.

The volume confirms that bias. SHIB's trading volume for the day dropped to $77.86 million, which is a 27% decline. This pushed the volume-to-market-cap ratio to just 1.59%. That's not how accumulation works.

Source: CoinMarketCapThe market cap chart shows a slow decline during the day, then stabilizes at around $4.86 billion. This usually happens when buyers stop defending levels instead of when sellers rush to exit.

SHIB's problem is pretty straightforward. There is no active driver. While Cardano is getting some attention with its new token launch and XRP is in the spotlight, SHIB does not have any clear direction or impact. In that kind of environment, prices will drift lower until demand returns.

As Sunday comes to a close, SHIB is just weak. If things do not improve on the market, it could lose even more value.

Crypto market outlookThe week for crypto closes without fireworks, but not without information. Capital is choosing carefully, ignoring noise and rewarding only setups that combine structure with substance.

Bitcoin (BTC): passive and range-bound — so, no leadership signal into the weekly close.XRP: locked near $2.02, but needs to reclaim above $2.28-$2.34 to change structure.Cardano (ADA): $0.37 is decisive, hold opens $0.46 then $0.54.Shiba Inu (SHIB): Capital leakage continues with volume confirming that buyers are absent.
You Might Also Like

Acres of sweet, red strawberries are ripening in West Sussex this winter ready to be sold in UK supermarkets.

LED lighting in vast glasshouses is enabling berries to be grown all year on a commercial scale for the first time ever.

It means less reliance on fruit flown in from countries like Egypt.

Image:
Bartosz Pinkosz

"The LED lighting is the prime reason for successful growing," said Bartosz Pinkosz, operations director of The Summer Berry.

"If it was not a sunny day, the LED lighting would create enough energy for leaves to absorb that energy, take it in and deliver the energy to the berries.

"We are able to have the right sweetness in the berries and the right shape, right size."

There are 36,000 square metres of the greenhouses at the site in Chichester, partially powered by renewable energy and buzzing with bees as pollinators.

Image:
Acres of strawberries ripening in West Sussex

And the new strand to the business means year-round work for 50 people.

But while it might cut the food miles dramatically, there's still an inevitable environmental impact when a colossal space is created warm enough for pickers to wear short sleeves in winter.

Dr Tara Garnett, director of food systems platform TABLE, said: "You're going to need a lot of heat and you're going to need a lot of light in order to reproduce those summer growing conditions so everything hinges on the energy source you're going to be using.

"And when we look at the UK self sufficiency levels in fruit and vegetables they are appalling - 16% of the fruit we consume is UK-grown, so the vast majority is imported, and when it comes to vegetables we're looking more at 50% or so, so there's a lot more we can do to build up, and should be doing."

Around 1.5 million punnets of strawberries are expected to be picked on the site over the full stretch of winter, allowing British strawberries to be eaten this Christmas.

But for some, it's simple - strawberries should be saved for summer, even if it is a much shorter journey from plant to plate.

Alphabet's stock has been on fire in the second half of the year.

Few stocks have had as good a second half of 2025 as Alphabet (GOOG 1.01%) (GOOGL 1.03%). Alphabet has received almost all positive headlines in the second half of 2025, and this has led to incredible performance. The stock has risen over 80% since July 1, and there appears to be no signs of its slowing down.

I think investors should look to Alphabet as the company that can lead the stock market higher in 2026, as it has several growth paths that look to be panning out.

Image source: Getty Images.

Alphabet has several ways to becoming the world's largest company
Currently, Nvidia (NVDA 3.30%) is the world's largest company, and Apple (AAPL +0.04%) isn't far behind at a $4.44 trillion and $4.14 trillion market cap, respectively. Alphabet holds a $3.9 trillion market cap, so it's close. And if investors were giving each stock the same valuation based on the company's bottom line, Alphabet would be the largest company in the world because it produces the most net income.

GOOGL Net Income (TTM) data by YCharts

For Alphabet to keep gaining,  it's going to need to continue growing earnings at a rapid pace. Fortunately, it has several ways to do that.

Alphabet's primary business is its Google Search engine, which gets its revenue from ads. Advertising is strong right now, and even a legacy business like Google Search delivered 15% growth during Q3. Google Search was the target of a monopoly case earlier this year, but it received a resolution in September that kept it from being broken up, which ignited a huge rally. While Google Search isn't going to deliver blazing fast growth, solid, mid- to double-digit growth is all investors want.

Another area where Alphabet is seeing success is its generative AI offering. While Alphabet was a bit of a laughingstock in the artificial intelligence arms race at the start, it has since made up ground and has reportedly caused OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT and the current industry leader, to declare "code red" because Alphabet is threatening to take over its lead. That's a big deal and shows that Alphabet's Gemini model may be the best horse to back in this race.

Today's Change

(

-1.03

%) $

-3.21

Current Price

$

309.22

Powering Alphabet's AI workloads and others is its cloud computing division, Google Cloud. Cloud computing has benefited massively from AI buildouts, as few companies have the resources necessary to build out their own AI-focused data centers. Instead, tech giants like Alphabet build excess capacity and rent it to cloud computing clients. Google Cloud has been a huge boost to Alphabet's growth rate, with its revenue rising 34% year over year in Q3. Additionally, its profitability is improving, with its operating margin increased from 17% in last year's Q3 to 24% this year. The cloud computing industry is expected to rapidly expand for several years, powered by AI and non-AI workloads alike.

These are all existing business units that are thriving, but Alphabet may have more up its sleeve.

Alphabet's computing products could be a new division
Alphabet has its own computing chips that it uses in-house: Tensor Processing Units (TPUs). These computing units are not intended to replace graphics processing units (GPUs) from Nvidia (NVDA 3.30%), but they do supplement them. TPUs excel when the workload is properly configured. In these instances, a TPU reportedly outperforms Nvidia's GPUs at a lower price point. The only way for clients to access these units was to rent them through Google Cloud, but that could be changing.

Alphabet and Meta Platforms (META 1.30%) are reportedly in talks to sell TPUs to Meta, which could launch a brand-new revenue stream for Alphabet that could help push its stock price up.

Alphabet is also heavily investing in the future of advanced computing through its quantum computing endeavors. While we're likely still several years away from useful quantum computing, Alphabet is already making waves in the industry by running the first verifiable algorithm on its Willow chip. That's a big deal, and it could secure Alphabet's place in the computing market of the future.

Alphabet is excelling on all fronts and makes for an exciting AI investment. If these results carry into 2026 and beyond, I have no doubt that Alphabet could continue leading the market higher.

Keithen Drury has positions in Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, Meta Platforms, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

These MLPs can enable you to generate lots of passive income.

The dividend yield on the S&P 500 is currently around 1.2%, which is near its all-time low. As a result, it's getting harder to find stocks with attractive dividend yields.

However, there are some enticing income opportunities if you know where to look. For example, several master limited partnerships (MLPs) offer much more enticing yields these days, including Energy Transfer (ET +0.88%), Enterprise Products Partners (EPD 0.25%), and MPLX (MPLX +0.60%). As a result, they can turn a $2,000 investment into a lucrative passive income stream:

Dividend Stock

Investment

Current Yield

Annual Dividend Income

Energy Transfer

$666.67

8.1%

$53.93

Enterprise Products Partners

$666.67

6.8%

$45.07

MPLX

$666.67

7.8%

$52.07

Total

$2,000.00

7.6%

$151.07

Data source: Google Finance and the author's calculations.

Here's why they're such smart options for income-seeking investors right now.

Image source: Getty Images.

Energy Transfer
Energy Transfer is one of the largest energy midstream companies in the country. Its pipelines, processing plants, and export terminals generate stable cash flow backed primarily by fee-based structures (90% of its earnings). The MLP has produced nearly $6.2 billion in cash through the first nine months of the year, conservatively covering the $3.4 billion it has distributed to investors. That has allowed it to retain lots of money to fund new investments.

The midstream giant also has a strong balance sheet. Its leverage ratio is currently in the lower half of its 4.0-4.5 times target range. These conservative metrics have Energy Transfer in the strongest financial position in its history.

Today's Change

(

0.88

%) $

0.14

Current Price

$

16.55

The company is using its financial flexibility to invest heavily in expanding its operations. It plans to spend $4.6 billion on growth capital projects this year and another $5 billion in 2026. It currently has projects lined up to come online through 2029. These projects help support its view that it can grow its already high-yielding payout by 3% to 5% per year.

Enterprise Products Partners
Enterprise Products Partners is in an even stronger financial position than Energy Transfer. The MLP's A-/A3 bond rating is the highest in the energy midstream sector. Enterprise Products Partners has a low 3.3 times leverage ratio and produces enough stable cash flow to cover its high-yielding distribution by a comfy 1.5 times.

Today's Change

(

-0.25

%) $

-0.08

Current Price

$

32.13

The MLP has been using its financial flexibility to support a multi-year growth capital deployment phase, which is coming to an end. The company is placing $6 billion of expansion projects into commercial service during the second half of this year. They'll contribute meaningful incremental cash flow next year. Meanwhile, its capital spending is on track to decline from $4.5 billion this year to between $2.2 billion and $2.5 billion in 2026. As a result, it should produce substantially more free cash flow in the coming year.

That will give Enterprise Products Partners more money to return to investors. The MLP has increased its distribution payment for 27 straight years, a streak that will undoubtedly continue. Additionally, the company boosted its buyback authorization from $2 billion to $5 billion.

MPLX
MPLX also backs its high-yielding payout with rock-solid financial metrics. The MLP produces stable cash flow and has a conservative 1.3 times coverage ratio. Meanwhile, its leverage ratio was 3.7 times at the end of the third quarter, comfortably below the 4.0 times range that its stable cash flows can support.

Today's Change

(

0.60

%) $

0.33

Current Price

$

54.85

The MLP has made several acquisitions this year, including paying $2.4 billion for Northwind Midstream. Meanwhile, it has approved a long list of new growth capital projects. It now has projects underway that should enter commercial service through 2029.

Those projects will give MPLX the fuel to continue increasing its high-yielding distribution. It recently raised its payout by another 12.5%, its second straight year of hiking it by that rate.

High-octane income streams
These MLPs produce lots of stable cash flow, giving them the funds to pay lucrative distributions while investing in growing their operations. Their big-time income streams also come with some tax advantages, as MLPs send investors a Schedule K-1 Federal Tax Form each year. This combination makes them some of the smartest high-yield dividend stocks to buy right now.

While some investors have grown cautious, one Wall Street analyst just doubled their price target on this fan-favorite stock.

While the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) has fueled stock market growth in recent years, there appear to be cracks in investor confidence. Despite evidence to the contrary, concerns of a bubble and fear that growth will slow have weighed on AI stocks.

AI chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA 3.30%) is one example. The company repurposed its graphics processing units (GPUs) to accelerate AI training and inference in data centers, quickly establishing itself as the gold standard. While the company's relative growth rate has slowed, absolute demand is still enviable.

Just last month, one Wall Street analyst doubled their expectations for Nvidia stock, predicting it will become a $20 trillion company by 2030. Let's look at Nvidia's recent results, why the analyst is one of the company's biggest bulls, and the path to achieve that lofty benchmark.

Image source: Getty Images.

The implementation of AI continues
No matter how you slice it, Nvidia's results have been breathtaking over the past 10 years: Revenue and net income have soared 3,970% and 15,320%, respectively, fueling stock price gains of 21,640% (as of this writing). Striking demand over the past three years has been fueled by the unprecedented adoption of AI, as evidenced by the company's recent results.

In its fiscal 2026 third quarter (ended Oct. 26), Nvidia's results once again reaccelerated. Record revenue of $57 billion climbed 62% year over year and 22% sequentially, while earnings per share (EPS) of $1.30 jumped 67%.

The data center segment continues to be the driving force, as it includes the GPUs used for data centers and cloud computing, with sales of $51.2 billion that surged 66%, clearly demonstrating the continuing demand for AI.

Nvidia's forecast suggests the company's growth streak will continue. Management's fourth-quarter outlook calls for revenue of $65 billion, which would represent 66% year-over-year growth at the midpoint of its guidance.

The relentless upward revisions of capital expenditures (capex) by big tech companies seem to support Nvidia's bullish view. Initial projections for AI spending in 2025 came in at $250 billion, but now it clocks in at $405 billion -- and could conceivably go higher. Estimates suggest even higher spending in 2026.

Nvidia is the dominant player in data center GPU space, commanding an estimated 92% of the market, according to IoT Analytics. As the gold standard for AI-centric GPUs, the company is well positioned to ride the wave of AI capex spending higher.

The road to $20 trillion
Nvidia's market cap sits at roughly $4.3 trillion (as of this writing). The company will have to generate stock price gains of 369% to drive its value to $20 trillion. Nvidia is on track to generate revenue of $213 billion in its fiscal 2026 (which ends in January), according to Wall Street, giving it a forward price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 20. Assuming its P/S remains constant, Nvidia would need to grow its revenue to roughly $1 trillion annually to support a $20 trillion market cap.

Wall Street is projecting annual revenue growth of 31% for Nvidia over the coming five years. By my calculations, it would take annual revenue growth of 34% to reach $1 trillion in revenue by 2030, so it's already in the ballpark. Furthermore, Wall Street has a history of underestimating the chipmaker, so I'm putting my money on Nvidia.

Today's Change

(

-3.30

%) $

-5.97

Current Price

$

174.96

I'm not the only one who thinks so. Just last month, Beth Kindig, CEO and lead tech analyst for the I/O Fund, doubled her 2030 market cap expectations for Nvidia to $20 trillion. Her calculations are compelling: Kindig said Nvidia will grow its data center revenue by 36% annually over the next five years to achieve that benchmark: "This is supported by Nvidia's aggressive 1-year product roadmap, an impenetrable software ecosystem through CUDA [Compute Unified Device Architecture], and its evolution into a full-stack AI systems provider. When these elements are modeled together -- alongside the rapid expansion in global AI infrastructure capex -- the path to $20 trillion becomes less sensational and more a reflection of compounding fundamentals."

Kindig's track record is clear, so ignore her at your peril. In 2019, when Nvidia's market cap was only $550 billion, the analyst predicted that it would leapfrog Apple to become the world's most valuable company. Kindig's prediction came to pass in 2024, so her opinion carries considerable weight, in my opinion.

Nvidia stock has a long history of volatility, which will likely continue, so it isn't for the faint of heart.

Fears of slowing AI adoption and talk of a bubble have rattled some shareholders, giving seasoned investors the opportunity to buy the stock at a relative discount. Nvidia is currently selling for just 23 times next year's sales, even though it's expected to increase its revenue by 48% to $316 billion.

Even if Nvidia doesn't reach a $20 trillion market cap by 2030, the evidence suggests the stock will likely be much higher than it is today.

This data center builder appears undervalued based on its construction pipeline and recent lease agreements made with hyperscalers.

Shares of Applied Digital (APLD 9.43%) have surged 295% year to date, driven by rising demand for additional data center capacity. As one of the leading builders of data centers, the company is benefiting from continued growth in spending on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.

While there are risks associated with executing its growth strategy, Applied Digital is poised to announce more leasing deals for its data centers over the next year, which serves as a significant catalyst for the stock.

Image source: Getty Images.

Energized data centers are rising in value
Publicly traded hyperscalers are expected to spend $350 billion this year on AI data centers. However, McKinsey has projected that data centers will need $6.7 trillion worldwide to meet the demand for compute power by 2030.

The problem is that current lead times for new data centers are at least five years, including securing the land and electricity to bring these facilities online. Hyperscalers can't wait that long; they need data center capacity now to meet the surging demand for AI cloud services. Applied Digital is one of the few builders that has a pipeline of construction projects in development.

Applied Digital has already signed one long-term lease agreement with CoreWeave for its Polaris Forge 1 campus in North Dakota. The company will supply 400 megawatts (MW) of data center load to CoreWeave in exchange for $11 billion in revenue over 15 years.

The stock has tripled since the company announced its CoreWeave deal on June 2. In October, Applied Digital announced a second 15-year lease with an undisclosed hyperscaler valued at $5 billion. Applied Digital will supply 200 MW of data center load to this customer. More deals are expected to follow, as the company has 4 gigawatts (GW) worth of data center load in its active development pipeline.

Today's Change

(

-9.43

%) $

-2.90

Current Price

$

27.86

Why invest in Applied Digital?
There are risks to watch. Building data centers requires high up-front costs before all the revenue can be realized. For example, the company's Polaris Forge 2 campus will need approximately $3 billion in funding.

The potential for construction delays is the most significant risk here, as Applied Digital is not profitable, reporting a net loss of $28 million last quarter. It requires financing, which involves taking on debt, to build data centers and ultimately establish a profitable business.

The good news is that Applied Digital has shortened its data center build times from 24 to 12 months. Moreover, it has secured $5 billion of funding from Macquarie Asset Management to fund construction, which reduces the company's financing risk. The ability to secure this financing also shows confidence from institutional investors in Applied Digital's growth strategy.

Hyperscalers are getting desperate for new data centers. This provides a significant catalyst for the stock to reach new highs following the announcement of any new lease agreements in the near term. The company's current market cap of $8.4 billion appears to fairly value the existing deals it has made this year, leaving more upside for investors with each new lease agreement announced.

Charter Communication's valuation could make it attractive to investors in the New Year. Oracle's growth may allow it to shake off its recent disappointing quarterly results.

Popular quantum computing stocks Rigetti and D-Wave trade at nonsensical valuations.

Certain artificial intelligence (AI) stocks -- chief among them Palantir Technologies -- currently trade at absurd valuations. But Palantir looks cheap compared to popular quantum computing stocks Rigetti Computing (RGTI 3.87%) and D-Wave Quantum (QBTS 6.72%). Their share prices have increased 3,500% and 1,700%, respectively, since January 2023.

I expect both stocks to crash next year when the quantum computing bubble inevitably bursts. Here's why.

Image source: Getty Images.

Practically useful quantum computers are likely (at least) a decade away
Qubits, the fundamental unit of information in a quantum computer, can exist in states of superposition and entanglement. That means they can exist in multiple states at the same time and the state of multiple qubits can be inextricably linked. Those phenomena allow quantum computers to solve complex problems beyond the scope of classical computers.

However, no company has yet constructed a large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer, meaning a system that corrects errors in real time and possesses enough qubits (experts estimate between 10,000 and 1 million are needed) to perform useful quantum computations. Qubits easily lose their fragile quantum states when exposed to environmental noise, which leads to high error rates.

Numerous experts believe large-scale, fault-tolerant systems are at least a decade away. Indeed, Grand View Research estimates the quantum computing market will grow at just 21% annually to hit $4 billion by 2030. But artificial intelligence (AI) spending is forecast to grow at 36% annually to reach $1.8 trillion over the same period.

Here's the big picture: Quantum systems excel at simulation and optimization problems, which means they could revolutionize fields like materials science, finance, and logistics. But practically useful quantum computers are probably a decade (or more) away. Indeed, the AI market is projected to be 450 times bigger than the quantum computing market in 2030.

Today's Change

(

-3.87

%) $

-1.04

Current Price

$

25.84

1. Rigetti Computing
Rigetti specializes in superconducting quantum computing, a modality where microscopic superconducting circuits are cooled to near absolute zero to create qubits. The company has a cost advantage in vertical integration; it maintains tight control over its supply chain by manufacturing quantum processors, developing quantum hardware and software, and delivering cloud-based quantum services.

Importantly, Rigetti was the first company to develop multichip quantum processors, which link several small chiplets to form large processors. The company believes its multichip architecture will help it scale quantum computing systems by limiting qubit crosstalk, reducing errors. Yet, Rigetti's product roadmap does not show 1,000-qubit systems until late 2027, and even then its computers will be years away from mainstream utility.

Rigetti stock trades at an outrageously rich valuation of 1,025 times sales. For context, Palantir is the most expensive stock in the S&P 500 at 120 times sales. Rigetti is literally 10 times more expensive. The current multiple is unsustainable. In fact, the valuation would be unsustainable even if Rigetti shares fell 90%. With practically useful quantum computers at least a decade away, this stock is due for a major correction.

2. D-Wave Quantum
D-Wave uses superconducting circuits to create qubits, but its product strategy differs from the one Rigetti employs. D-Wave is primarily focused on quantum annealers rather than gate-based systems. Annealers cannot run most quantum algorithms, which limits their utility, but they excel at solving optimization problems.

Gate-based computers will ultimately address more use cases, but quantum annealers are currently easier to scale because they tolerate more noise. That important distinction let D-Wave commercialize quantum computers before its peers. Also, while competitors struggle to build gate-based systems with a few hundred physical qubits, D-Wave has already built annealers with nearly 5,000 physical qubits.

As the first mover, D-Wave has already forged deep relationships with certain clients. That may give the company an edge is driving adoption of its products and services as quantum computing technology matures. However, it does not justify the valuation. The stock trades at 325 times sales. While much cheaper than Rigetti, that multiple is still nonsensical when quantum computing sales are forecast to increase at just 21% annually through 2030.

We gebruiken cookies en gegevens voor het volgende:

Google-services leveren en onderhoudenUitval bijhouden en bescherming bieden tegen spam, fraude en misbruikDoelgroepbetrokkenheid en sitestatistieken meten om inzicht te krijgen in hoe onze services worden gebruikt en de kwaliteit van die services te verbeterenAls je Alles accepteren kiest, gebruiken we cookies en gegevens ook voor het volgende:

Nieuwe services ontwikkelen en verbeterenAdvertenties laten zien en de effectiviteit ervan metenGepersonaliseerde content laten zien (afhankelijk van je instellingen)Gepersonaliseerde advertenties laten zien (afhankelijk van je instellingen)Als je Alles afwijzen kiest, gebruiken we cookies niet voor deze aanvullende doeleinden.

Niet-gepersonaliseerde content en advertenties worden beïnvloed door factoren zoals de content die je op dat moment bekijkt en je locatie (voor advertenties wordt je algemene locatie gebruikt). Gepersonaliseerde content en advertenties kunnen bijvoorbeeld ook videoaanbevelingen, een aangepaste YouTube-homepage en op jou toegespitste advertenties omvatten die zijn gebaseerd op eerdere activiteit, zoals de video's die je bekijkt en de items waarnaar je zoekt op YouTube. We gebruiken cookies en gegevens ook om te zorgen dat de functionaliteit geschikt is voor je leeftijd, als dit relevant is.

Selecteer Meer opties om meer informatie te bekijken, waaronder informatie over hoe je je privacyinstellingen beheert. Je kunt ook altijd naar g.co/privacytools gaan.

While Nvidia and Broadcom are both benefiting from the AI boom, Wall Street sees one stock as a much better buy.

Semiconductor companies Nvidia (NVDA 3.30%) and Broadcom (AVGO 11.58%) are leading suppliers of artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators. Nvidia dominates the market with its graphics processing units, but Broadcom is gaining market share with custom alternatives.

Overall, Wall Street thinks both stocks are undervalued, but analysts view Nvidia as a much better buy at current prices.

Among 70 analysts, Nvidia has a median target price of $250 per share. That implies 43% upside from its current share price of $175. And the highest target price of $352 per share implies 101% upside.
Among 50 analysts, Broadcom has a median target price of $450 per share. That implies 25% upside from its current share price of $360. The highest target price of $525 per share implies 46% upside.

Here's what investors should know about these semiconductor stocks.

Image source: Getty Images.

Nvidia: 43% upside implied by the median target price
The investment thesis for Nvidia centers on its status as the industry standard in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The company is best known for its graphics processing units (GPUs), chips otherwise referred to as AI accelerators. Nvidia holds over 90% market share in data center GPUs, but it's also a leading supplier of generative AI networking equipment.

Nvidia has several important competitive advantages. First, it builds rack-scale systems that integrate GPUs, central processing units (CPUs), and networking to provide customers with a turnkey solution for data center infrastructure. Second, Nvidia systems consistently outperform products from competing chipmakers when benchmarked in an objective setting.

Third, Nvidia supports its GPUs with an unparalleled software ecosystem called CUDA. It comprises code libraries, frameworks, and pretrained models that help developers write applications across disciplines like predictive analytics, computer vision, conversational intelligence, and autonomous machines. CUDA runs only on Nvidia GPUs.

Nvidia recently got good news from the Trump administration. The company will be allowed to sell its H200 GPUs in China, the second-largest artificial intelligence market in the world. Increasingly strict export curbs have gradually locked Nvidia out of China, such that its market share has fallen from 95% to zero in the last few years. The new policy will give Nvidia a chance to reclaim its leadership position.

Wall Street expects Nvidia's earnings to increase at 37% annually over the next three years. That makes the current valuation of 43 times earnings look reasonable. I think Nvidia stock is a must-own for most investors eager to capitalize on the AI revolution, and now is a good time to buy a few shares.

Today's Change

(

-3.30

%) $

-5.97

Current Price

$

174.96

Broadcom: 25% upside implied by the median target price
The investment thesis for Broadcom centers on its strong market presence in Ethernet networking chips and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). The company builds the fastest Ethernet switching and routing chips, and it has more than 80% market share. Demand for high-speed networking chips should increase as the AI infrastructure buildout continues.

Broadcom is also the leading supplier of custom artificial intelligence accelerators, a type of ASIC purpose-built for training and inference workloads. The company develops custom silicon for five hyperscale customers -- Alphabet's Google, Meta Platforms, TikTok parent ByteDance, OpenAI, and Anthropic -- and it has other potential customers in the pipeline, including Apple and xAI.

Importantly, while ASICs themselves are often cheaper than Nvidia GPUs, system-level costs tend to be higher because they lack prebuilt software tools (so developers must build them from scratch), and they typically use costly optical interconnects rather than less expensive copper cables. That custom silicon often comes with a higher total cost of ownership, meaning Broadcom is likely a relatively small threat to Nvidia.

Indeed, Morgan Stanley analysts estimate that AI accelerator sales will increase at 34% annually through 2030, at which point Nvidia GPUs will still account for 85% of revenue. The remaining 15% market share will be divided among ASIC producers, with Broadcom likely to be the biggest winner.

Wall Street expects Broadcom's earnings to grow at 30% annually in the next three years. That makes the current valuation of 92 times earnings look expensive. Those numbers give a price-to-earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio of 3, a significant premium to Nvidia's PEG ratio of 1.1. Both companies will continue to benefit from the AI revolution, but Nvidia is the more attractive investment at current prices.

HomeETFs and Funds AnalysisETF Analysis

SummaryThe Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF offers exposure to democratic, capitalist emerging markets, avoiding autocratic regimes.FRDM's portfolio features world-class companies, like Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and Taiwan Semiconductor.FRDM trades at a blended P/E of 15.04 and yields 2.11%, offering attractive valuation versus the S&P 500's P/E of 27 and 1.12% yield.I view FRDM as a long-term investment, favoring its freedom-weighted strategy over traditional emerging market ETFs.Lenin. One down, one to go.

alexmak72427/iStock Editorial via Getty Images

"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven." - Ecclesiastes 3:1

To Everything There is a Season I have the honor of having

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of FRDM either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

I do not know your personal financial situation, so I offer my ideas solely for your due diligence.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Recommended For You

Adobe has been putting up solid results, but its stock has struggled to gain traction.

Over the past year, Adobe's (ADBE +1.71%) stock price fell about 35% based, in part, on the narrative that the company's business is being disrupted by artificial intelligence (AI). However, the leader in creative software recently closed out its fiscal year, posting solid revenue growth and projecting good growth next fiscal year as well.

Let's take a close look at Adobe's results and guidance to see if the stock has what it takes to finally start to break out to the upside.

Image source: Getty Images

Adobe is a consistent grower
Throughout its fiscal 2025, Adobe saw consistent 10% to 11% revenue growth quarter in and quarter out. If that is what AI disruption looks like, then I'm sure Adobe will take it. It also projected that its annual recurring revenue (ARR) will grow by 10.2% next year.

Meanwhile, the company has leaned into AI with its own AI model, Firefly, as well as providing access to third-party large language models (LLMs) from OpenAI, Alphabet, and others. It has also launched other AI-powered tools, such as Acrobat AI Assistant and marketing platform GenStudio. It noted that generative AI credit consumption has been soaring, increasing threefold quarter over quarter. This tends to lead to customers buying more credits or upgrading to higher software tiers.

Overall, Adobe saw its revenue climb 10% in fiscal 2025 to $6.19 billion. This was above its previous forecast for revenue of between $6.075 billion and $6.125 billion. Its adjusted earnings per share (EPS) jumped 14% to $5.50, ahead of its prior $5.35 to $5.40 outlook.

Among individual segments, digital media, which is home to both its Creative and Document Cloud businesses, saw revenue increase by 11% to $4.62 billion. Digital media ARR grew nearly 12% to $19.2 billion.

Revenue in the digital experience segment, which provides digital analytics and online marketing services, rose by 9% to $1.52 billion. Within the segment, digital experience subscription revenue climbed by 11% to $1.41 billion. Adobe GenStudio, which is used for performance marketing, continued to be a strong driver, with ARR growing 25% year over year.

Looking ahead, Adobe provided a fiscal 2026 outlook, as seen in the table below:

MetricFY 2026 ForecastRevenue$25.9 billion to $26.1 billionBusiness professionals & consumers subscription revenue$7.35 billion to $7.4 billionCreative & marketing professionals subscription revenue$17.75 billion to $19.9 billionTotal ARR growth10.2%Adjusted earnings per share$23.30 to $23.50
Data source: Adobe earnings releases. FY = fiscal year.

For its fiscal first quarter, meanwhile, it provided the following outlook:

MetricFiscal Q1 ForecastRevenue$6.25 billion to $6.3 billionBusiness professionals & consumers subscription revenue$1.74 billion to $1.76 billionCreative & marketing professionals subscription revenue$4.3 billion to $4.33 billionAdjusted earnings per share$5.85 to $5.90
Data source: Adobe earnings releases.

Is it time to buy Adobe stock?
Adobe has been a consistent low double-digit revenue grower whose business just compounds year after year. There have been no signs that AI is disrupting its business, and while the technology hasn't accelerated its revenue growth, it has helped keep it steady.

Today's Change

(

1.71

%) $

6.00

Current Price

$

356.43

Meanwhile, some aspects are growing quickly, such as with GenStudio. The company is looking to further push into AI-powered performance marketing with the recent announcement that it will acquire SemRush for $1.9 billion. It will look to integrate Semrush's SEO (search engine optimization) tools into its offering to help customers improve their brand visibility.

Turning to valuation, the stock currently trades at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 15 times fiscal year 2026 analyst estimates, which is pretty cheap for a software-as-a-service (SaaS) with strong gross margins (over 80%) that is growing its revenue and earnings at a nice clip. Overall, Adobe is a solid, earnings compounder trading at a reasonable price.

If the company just keeps doing what it's doing, it should eventually break the narrative that its business is getting disrupted by AI. Reframing the story, however, can take time, but one day the sentiment will start to shift, and the stock will rally. As such, patient investors can look to buy the stock around current levels.

David Schwartz, chief technology officer at Ripple, recently poked fun at the Microsoft Edge browser with an ironic roast. 

The joke about Microsoft Edge has its roots in the older Internet Explorer (IE) meme, and it evolved over time as Microsoft updated its browser. 

Classic internet meme Internet Explorer had a reputation for being slow, buggy, and insecure. Users often joked that the only use of IE was to download Chrome. This idea became a running gag in tech communities.

HOT Stories

IE 5 and 6 were widely used and dominated the browser market. IE 6, in particular, became infamous for security flaws, nonstandard HTML/CSS rendering, and crashes. IE 7 improved security and introduced tabs, but performance was still sluggish compared. Firefox and Chrome ended up upending its dominance. 

Microsoft replaced IE with Edge in Windows 10. Early reactions noted that Edge was faster and more modern, but users still joked that it was primarily useful to download Chrome.

You Might Also Like

Microsoft Edge holds roughly 5% of the total worldwide browser market — much smaller than Chrome’s dominant 62-68% share.

On desktop specifically, Edge tends to sit around 11–12% market share.

The browser comes preinstalled on Windows 10 and 11, which helps maintain its user base.

Chrome criticism Schwartz has also complained about Chrome's high memory usage. In 2024, he posted a screenshot showing it using 10GB RAM. 

In January 2025, he criticized Google for "user-hostile changes" in both Chrome and Android that remove functionality.

However, it is pretty safe to say that Schwartz is not going to use Microsoft Edge anytime soon.

10h05 ▪
4
min read ▪ by
Luc Jose A.

Summarize this article with:

While Bitcoin ETFs attract massive institutional inflows and macroeconomic conditions argue for a rebound in risky assets, the price remains surprisingly stuck below 90,000 dollars. This stagnation, out of sync with the prevailing bullish signals, points to invisible forces restricting its progress. Between yield strategies and sophisticated arbitrage, a more discreet mechanism seems to weigh on the market just as investors expect a new momentum.

In Brief

Bitcoin remains stuck around $90,000, despite growing investor interest via ETFs.
An analyst points to a discreet strategy used by some historic holders: selling covered call options.
This practice generates invisible selling pressure on the market, slowing BTC price progress.
Meanwhile, BTC is decoupling from stock markets, despite strong institutional demand via ETFs like IBIT.

Invisible but Real Selling Pressure
According to market analyst Jeff Park, some of the oldest Bitcoin holders, nicknamed the “OGs”, contribute to slowing the progression of the BTC price by adopting a well-known strategy in the derivatives world: selling covered call options.

This technique allows them to generate passive income by selling call options on their Bitcoin holdings, which they have held for more than ten years. “When you already have the Bitcoin inventory you’ve held for over ten years and you sell call options on it, only the sale of these adds delta to the market, and this direction is negative,” Jeff Park states.

Here are the main elements of this mechanism that acts as a brake on the crypto price:

The “OGs” sell call options on BTC they already hold, which allows them to pocket an immediate premium without parting with their tokens, unless the price exceeds the strike ;

Liquidity providers who buy these options must hedge by selling spot Bitcoin to limit their exposure ;

These spot sales create artificial downward pressure on the price, even with strong buying demand ;

The Bitcoin used for these strategies is not from recent purchases, meaning it does not represent any new capital injection into the market ;

Covered call options become a source of negative delta, according to Park, meaning the entire market experiences a structural selling influence.

This phenomenon, subtle for non-initiates, partly explains why Bitcoin struggles to take off despite growing enthusiasm from institutional investors. In short, OGs optimize their short-term gains at the expense of medium-term bullish momentum.

Increasing Decoupling and Tensions with Traditional Flows
While tech stocks continue to break historical records, Bitcoin seems to have decoupled from this momentum.

Since the second half of the year, analysts have observed a clear decoupling between BTC and stock markets, an unusual phenomenon given that the two moved in tandem in previous cycles.

In this context, BTC’s inaction is surprising, especially given the strong investment flows via ETFs. Despite strong demand on BlackRock’s IBIT, prices remain contained. This anomaly is all the more striking as volatility curves observed on ETFs now differ significantly from those on crypto derivatives platforms like Deribit.

Several hypotheses emerge to explain this inertia. Some analysts remain optimistic. They believe that the Fed’s ongoing rate cut cycle could inject a new wave of liquidity favorable to risky assets, which Bitcoin would fully benefit from.

According to CME Group data (FedWatch tool), 24.4% of traders anticipate another rate cut as early as January 2026. However, other voices are more cautious, even skeptical. For these experts, the bull run may already be behind us, and a drop back to 76,000 dollars is not excluded.

Bitcoin collapses after false hope of rebound, revealing the limits of a pressured market. Despite optimism sparked by incoming flows, some actors’ defensive strategies continue to neutralize bullish momentum. The expected recovery will now have to contend with more structural resistances.

Maximize your Cointribune experience with our "Read to Earn" program! For every article you read, earn points and access exclusive rewards. Sign up now and start earning benefits.

Join the program

A

A

Lien copié

Luc Jose A.

Diplômé de Sciences Po Toulouse et titulaire d'une certification consultant blockchain délivrée par Alyra, j'ai rejoint l'aventure Cointribune en 2019.
Convaincu du potentiel de la blockchain pour transformer de nombreux secteurs de l'économie, j'ai pris l'engagement de sensibiliser et d'informer le grand public sur cet écosystème en constante évolution. Mon objectif est de permettre à chacun de mieux comprendre la blockchain et de saisir les opportunités qu'elle offre. Je m'efforce chaque jour de fournir une analyse objective de l'actualité, de décrypter les tendances du marché, de relayer les dernières innovations technologiques et de mettre en perspective les enjeux économiques et sociétaux de cette révolution en marche.

DISCLAIMER

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.

Ethereum price has managed to stay above the $3,000 mark, but its momentum is fading. Traders are watching not just the charts but the calendar — specifically, May 2026, when Jerome Powell’s term as Federal Reserve Chair ends. With new leadership expected under a Trump administration, uncertainty is creeping back into global markets. The big question is whether that shift will fuel Ethereum price growth or put a ceiling on its price recovery.

Ethereum Price Prediction: Powell Out, Policy UnclearThe Fed’s latest quarter-point rate cut may look routine, but the timing couldn’t be more significant. Powell’s upcoming exit has markets bracing for a change in tone — and possibly direction. Trump’s rumored nominees, like Kevin Hassett, have openly called for deeper rate cuts, which could push borrowing costs much lower than the Fed currently projects.

But policy shifts don’t happen in a vacuum. The new chair will inherit a split committee, with several members still leaning hawkish. That means 2026 could become a tug of war between political pressure for cheap money and institutional caution against inflation. For Ethereum price, this tug of war matters — because it determines whether liquidity expands or tightens in the broader risk market.

Ethereum Price Prediction Stuck Between Caution and HopeETH/USD Daily Chart- TradingViewOn the daily chart, ETH/USD trades around $3,115, consolidating after a weak rebound from November’s lows near $2,850. The Bollinger Bands (20,2) show narrowing volatility, similar to XRP’s structure earlier this month. Ethereum price has repeatedly failed to break above the middle band around $3,300, showing hesitation among bulls.

If ETH price loses its footing below $3,000, the next key supports lie at $2,850, $2,600, and $2,400 — zones marked by historical accumulation and Fibonacci retracements. Conversely, a clean break above $3,300 with volume could reignite bullish sentiment, setting up a move toward $3,600–$3,800.

The setup mirrors a market waiting for macro confirmation — and that confirmation will likely come from the Fed, not the blockchain.

Why the Fed Transition Matters for Ethereum PriceEthereum price thrives when money is cheap and liquidity flows freely. Every major rally — from 2020’s DeFi boom to 2021’s NFT mania — came during aggressive Fed easing cycles. A new Fed chair favoring deeper cuts could inject life into speculative assets again, including crypto.

But uncertainty around leadership transition, delayed economic data due to the government shutdown, and potential legal battles over Fed independence could slow the decision-making process. That translates to hesitation among institutional traders, who now dominate ETH volumes. Until clarity emerges, Ethereum’s price may keep oscillating between optimism and caution.

Ethereum Price Prediction: 2026 Could Start with Confusion, End with MomentumExpect Ethereum price early 2026 price action to reflect a wait-and-see mood. The market will be reading every speech, nomination leak, and rate projection for hints of how dovish or hawkish the new chair will be. If a Trump-backed Fed leadership moves fast to cut rates, Ethereum could see liquidity-driven gains by mid-2026, potentially retesting $4,000 and beyond.

If not, and the Fed stays divided, Ethereum price may grind lower or remain stuck in a tight range through the first half of the year. Either way, volatility will spike once policy direction becomes clear — and that’s when traders should be ready.

$ETH chart shows stability, not strength. The macro backdrop shows uncertainty, not conviction. Together, they signal a cautious start to 2026. The leadership change at the Fed could either become the spark for ETH price next rally or the anchor that holds it down.

Journalist

Posted: December 14, 2025

The cryptocurrency market has remained under pressure, recording significant outflows over recent months.

Glassnode reports that unrealized losses across the broader crypto ecosystem have reached $350 billion, with Bitcoin investors accounting for $85 billion of that figure.

The analytics firm also projects a volatile phase ahead for Bitcoin in particular.

Digital Asset Treasuries appear to be treating this warning as a signal to step in, with exchange-traded fund (ETF) investors following suit.

Recent data from Glassnode shows steady Bitcoin [BTC] accumulation by DATs, suggesting a shift in investor positioning.

Bitcoin DAT steps in
Treasury netflows have trended upward since the fourth quarter of the year, with daily accumulation approaching 24,000 BTC.

At present, DATs hold more than 1.69 million Bitcoin, representing 8.03% of the total supply and valued at approximately $153.4 billion.

Source: Glassnode

Compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, accumulation in the current quarter has been notably stronger.

This comes despite a more bearish market tone, particularly when contrasted with December 2024, when Bitcoin first surged above the $100,000 mark.

Sustained accumulation at this level is generally price-supportive and could strengthen Bitcoin’s ability to hold above the $90,000 region, even as selling pressure persists.

Institutions to maintain accumulation pace
Institutional investors are not backing down. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs continue to increase their exposure, purchasing $233.7 million worth of Bitcoin by the close of the most recent trading week.

Last week alone, total net inflows reached $286.6 million, comprising $424.5 million in net accumulation offset by $137.9 million in net sales.

Trading volume currently stands at $124.15 billion, according to CoinGlass.

Source: CoinGlass

With buy activity outweighing sell pressure, market data suggests improving sentiment and a gradual return of confidence, positioning Bitcoin on a potentially net-positive path.

However, the Fund Market Premium offers a more cautious signal. It currently shows a negative reading, indicating that ETFs are trading below their net asset value. This points to weaker short-term momentum.

Still, the data suggests a baseline level of confidence, as investors continue accumulating through ETF products despite subdued premiums.

2 factors supporting Bitcoin
Global liquidity has risen sharply. Global M2 recently hit an all-time high of roughly $130 trillion, according to Alphractal.

In simple terms, rising global M2 reflects expanding liquidity as central banks ease financial conditions. Historically, this environment has favored risk assets.

As liquidity increases, a portion of this capital could rotate into risk assets such as Bitcoin, supporting demand growth.

Source: Alphractal

In the U.S., sentiment has already begun to shift.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) recently cut interest rates by 25 basis points, reducing borrowing costs and improving conditions for risk-on assets. This move has historically benefited Bitcoin.

For now, capital rotation remains the key factor to watch, as sustained inflows could accelerate upward price movement.

Final Thoughts

The extended Bitcoin sell-off continues to see Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs) and institutional investors accumulate.
Global economic conditions and U.S. quantitative easing could support Bitcoin’s upward momentum.

Solana exchange-traded funds extended their inflow streak to seven days, bucking both the price drop of SOL and the broader crypto sell-off. According to Farside Investors, the ETFs attracted $674 million, reaching a peak of roughly $16.6 million on Tuesday.

Since the first SOL ETF went live in July and Bitwise followed on that page in October, the ETFs have continued to draw the attention of both institutional and traditional finance investors. James Seyffart, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg, singled out the launch of REX-Osprey’s staked SOL ETF and BSOL Solana ETF by Bitwise in July and October as the top ETF launches of 2025.

Solana’s market cap has dropped over 2%even as ETF inflows continued to rise
The volume of the Solana ETF flows reflects ongoing demand for SOL, both among institutional investors and traditional finance, despite a decline in price and on-chain metrics, such as total value locked, as part of a wider market pullback. For one thing, according to Nansen data, Solana’s market capitalization decreased by over 2% over the last seven days.

SOL is also almost 55% off its January peak of close to $295, hit after the Trump memecoin debut on Solana. The token has traded below its 365-day moving average since November and is down approximately 47% from the September peak of $253. 

SOL still faces resistance in the $140-$145 range and has been unable to close above those levels in December. However, the emergence of new US-listed SOL ETFs and the increasing interest in on-chain capital markets from crypto executives and US regulators has brought these issues to the forefront.

Market observers attribute SOL’s troubles to falling prices and weaker activity on the chain, leading to a decline in TVL during broader market weakness.

The current disparity between ETF inflows vs. the SOL spot price trend indicates an abnormal market situation. With Solana ETFs continuing to see strong inflows, SOL’s market cap and pricing momentum have both soured, leaving analysts mired in the differences between institutional demand and broader trading sentiment.

Kazakhstan has lined up projects focused on Solana
Kazakhstan is advancing a countrywide crypto and blockchain strategy centered on Solana, according to FORMA Mayor Farhaj Mayan, who spoke at the Solana Breakpoint conference.

The country has laid out plans, including the establishment of a Solana economic special zone, the launch of the Tenge stablecoin, dual-listed IPOs on AIX and Solana, training 1,000 developers, creating a national crypto asset reserve, and constructing a blockchain-based CryptoCity.

Meanwhile, global bank JPMorgan has also recently executed a landmark commercial paper deal via the Solana blockchain, advancing real-world finance into decentralized infrastructure. The paper was executed on-chain and settled with Circle’s USDC stablecoin. The bank created the on-chain token representing the debt and handled settlement, with Galaxy structuring the issuance.

Coinbase participated as investor and wallet provider, and Franklin Templeton, already active in tokenized funds, also invested. U.S. regulators have backed the trend. SEC Chair Paul Atkins recently called tokenization a major innovation for capital markets, telling FOX Business last week that it could transform the financial system in the next few years.

Sharpen your strategy with mentorship + daily ideas - 30 days free access to our trading program

The Render Network Foundation has launched Dispersed, a distributed GPU computing platform aimed at easing growing constraints in centralized cloud infrastructure as global artificial intelligence (AI) workloads expand.

TLDR

Ethereum’s multi-year range aligns with Wyckoff accumulation phases observed in historical market cycles.
A confirmed spring and higher Last Point of Support suggest downside supply has largely been absorbed.
Declining ETH exchange balances indicate reduced sell pressure as more holders move to self-custody.
Rising open interest and recent exchange inflows show increased positioning as price nears resistance.

Ethereum Wyckoff Phase is increasingly being cited by market analysts as a framework explaining the asset’s current positioning.

Recent technical commentary, paired with exchange flow data, suggests Ethereum may be approaching the final stage of a long accumulation cycle. The discussion is centered on structure rather than short-term price movement.

Ethereum has spent several years trading within a wide range, absorbing volatility across multiple macro environments. 

This extended consolidation has created conditions where classical accumulation models are being revisited. Analysts are now assessing whether recent price behavior reflects preparation rather than exhaustion.

Structural Signals Point to a Mature Accumulation
Ethereum Wyckoff Phase analysis shared by Merlijn The Trader frames the multi-year range as a textbook accumulation. 

Phase A defined the range through a clear Selling Climax, Automatic Rally, and Secondary Tests. Those events marked the absorption of panic-driven supply and the establishment of structural boundaries.

THIS ETHEREUM CHART IS A WYCKOFF MASTERCLASS.

Ethereum followed the script:
– Spring
– Test
– LPS
– Breakout zone next

If this plays out, $ETH is on track for a full Phase E, vertical markup.

Target: $10K+
The blueprint is drawn.

The market is waking up. pic.twitter.com/v0jx8IuTpH

— Merlijn The Trader (@MerlijnTrader) December 13, 2025

Phase B followed with prolonged consolidation and repeated tests of support. Price volatility during this period served to weaken speculative positioning. 

According to the analysis, this phase allowed larger participants to accumulate without driving price expansion.

Attention has now shifted to Phase C, where Ethereum briefly moved below established support before quickly reclaiming it. That spring-and-test sequence is widely interpreted as the final removal of remaining supply. Since then, price has respected higher support levels, aligning with a transition into Phase D.

Ethereum is currently pressing toward the upper end of the range. The presence of a Sign of Strength above resistance, combined with a potential Back-Up to the Last Point of Support, places focus on whether Phase E is approaching. Within Wyckoff methodology, that phase represents sustained markup.

Exchange Behavior Adds Supporting Context
Ethereum Wyckoff Phase discussions are also being informed by on-chain data. Crypto Patel noted that ETH balances on exchanges are declining while Binance’s share remains stable. 

This trend points toward holders moving assets into self-custody rather than responding to platform risk.

Lower exchange balances generally reduce immediate sell-side availability. When paired with structural tightening on price charts, this condition often becomes part of broader accumulation narratives. 

The consistency across exchanges suggests coordinated behavior rather than isolated flows.

At the same time, Coin Bureau reported a sharp increase in ETH inflows to Binance, totaling 162,000 ETH. 

🚨ETH EXCHANGE INFLOWS SPIKE

Binance just saw its biggest ETH inflow since spring 2023, with 162K $ETH moving into the exchange. ETH open interest is above $17.6B, showing traders are taking on more risk again. pic.twitter.com/KMEJYfVrnn

— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) December 9, 2025

This marked the largest inflow since spring 2023. Alongside this movement, Ethereum open interest has risen above $17.6 billion.

Rising open interest reflects increased trader engagement and risk exposure. When viewed with declining net exchange balances, it signals positioning activity rather than simple distribution. 

Ethereum Wyckoff Phase analysis now sits alongside derivatives data that shows markets preparing for expansion.

Ethereum continues to trade within a decisive zone where structure, custody trends, and leveraged participation intersect.

Market participants are monitoring whether these aligned signals confirm completion of the accumulation phase before a broader directional move.

In January of last year, spot Bitcoin ETFs were launched on U.S. exchanges.

These are exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that directly hold BTC as collateral, thereby replicating its real-time price movement. 

In reality, similar funds already existed before, especially in Europe, but although their operation is technically very similar, they are not ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds) but ETPs (Exchange-Traded Products), and in particular, largely ETNs (Exchange-Traded Notes). 

The difference between an ETF and an ETN is purely technical, as they are extremely similar financial instruments. 

Spot Bitcoin ETFs 
The most important feature of a spot Bitcoin ETF is that the fund directly purchases and holds BTC, rather than derivatives like futures contracts. 

Previously, Bitcoin ETFs already existed in the U.S. markets, but they were not spot; instead, they were collateralized in futures contracts. 

Spot ETFs, on the other hand, are able to perfectly replicate the price trend of BTC because they can buy BTC when demand increases and sell BTC when sales rise.

It should be specified that on the stock exchange, the shares of these funds are traded (i.e., bought and sold), while the BTC used as collateral remain stationary in the wallets of the funds themselves. 

ETFs are highly favored by certain investors because they are well-regulated products and are held by authorized financial institutions, thus free from any legal issues (though technical challenges related to the custody of BTC remain). 

Additionally, they can be bought and sold like stocks during the stock market’s trading hours. 

Although holding shares of a spot Bitcoin ETF is not at all like holding BTC, some investors prefer ETFs for certain advantages. 

First of all, they do not require having a crypto wallet or an account on a crypto exchange. Additionally, if the broker allows it, they can be purchased using leverage, sold short, and can also be bought or sold with so-called options. 

Additionally, they are regarded as “institutional” securities by banks and advisors, and can also be included in securities accounts or pension plans. 

Where They Are Traded
Various exchanges host spot Bitcoin ETF trading in the USA and ETN trading in Europe. 

The most important and liquid market remains the American one. 

The largest and most significant spot BTC ETFs are indeed traded on U.S. exchanges, and among these are BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), Fidelity’s Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), ARK Invest and 21Shares’ ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), Bitwise’s Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), and Grayscale’s Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).

In addition to these, on the US exchanges, there are also VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL), Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO), Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC), Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR), WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund (BTCW), and Hashdex Bitcoin ETF (DEFI).

In Europe, there are 21Shares Bitcoin ETP (ABTC), traded on the SIX in Zurich and Euronext in Paris and Amsterdam, CoinShares Physical Bitcoin (BITC) traded on the Deutsche Börse Xetra in Frankfurt, WisdomTree Physical Bitcoin (BTCW) traded on Xetra and Borsa Italiana, VanEck Bitcoin ETN (VBTC) traded on Xetra and Euronext, SEBA Bitcoin ETP traded on the SIX, ETC Group Physical Bitcoin (BTIC) traded on Xetra, and Jacobi Bitcoin ETF (BCOIN) traded on Euronext Amsterdam. 

It also seems that in the coming months, the first Bitcoin spot ETFs with the UCITS brand may debut on Borsa Italiana. 

How to Buy
First of all, if you want to buy shares of an ETF or ETN, you need to check which ones are available on the platforms you are using. 

In fact, not all ETFs and ETNs are available on all platforms, so either you check which ones are available on the platforms you are already using, or you look for which platforms offer the ones you decide to purchase. 

It should be noted that European platforms often do not provide access to American ETFs, or that American platforms do not provide access to European ETNs, but there are also global platforms that allow simultaneous access to both American and European markets. 

Once the funds whose shares are actually purchasable on various platforms have been identified, it is necessary to choose which ones to invest in. 

It should be noted that in terms of price trends, theoretically, there should not be any significant difference between one fund and another. At most, the spreads applied by different platforms may vary. 

Additionally, it is important to remember that generally the price of a single share of a spot Bitcoin ETF does not correspond to the price of BTC, because for convenience, a single share of a spot Bitcoin ETF is associated with only a fraction of BTC so that its price is more affordable. 

Bitcoin, in fact, can be divided into one hundred million sub-units, whereas stocks generally cannot be fractioned unless the platform in use allows it (which is quite rare). 

Once the ETF is selected, the purchase can be made just like any other security available on the chosen platform.

The Choice
Perhaps the most challenging aspect is choosing which ETF to purchase. 

There are indeed several factors to consider. 

The first, quite simply, is related to the costs of individual ETFs, which do not depend on the purchase price of the shares, and vary from fund to fund. 

In particular, attention should be focused on the so-called Expense Ratio, which is the annual management fee paid to the ETF issuer to keep it operational.

Although there are no significant differences regarding the Expense Ratio of the main spot Bitcoin ETFs, some are more expensive, while others are slightly cheaper. 

The second factor is liquidity. In fact, if large purchases are made, low liquidity or low trading volumes risk driving up the purchase price at the time of acquisition. 

However, if the purchase is made with modest amounts, this issue often does not arise. 

The third factor is related to risks. 

In fact, it is not true that spot ETFs on Bitcoin are risk-free: they simply involve different risks compared to exchanges and crypto wallets. 

It is advisable to prioritize those ETFs that have a very secure BTC custodian. In the past, there have been several thefts affecting custodians, so it is better to prioritize security even if it means slightly higher management fees. 

Finally, it is always important to keep in mind the risk associated with Bitcoin’s price volatility, but this is a risk that can never be avoided when deciding to invest directly in BTC. 

Where to Buy
The shares of ETFs and ETNs are available on the platforms of traditional financial brokers that allow stock market investments. 

In fact, as previously mentioned, these are securities that are traded directly on traditional exchanges. 

However, there are different platforms that allow investing in the stock market. 

The most common ones are those integrated directly into the web-banking of one’s bank. While this is certainly the most convenient solution, it might not be the most economical. Additionally, they often have a limited offering of securities, so much so that on European bank platforms, for example, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs are often not available. 

However, there are also platforms that are not integrated into web-banking, but are “stand-alone”, which anyone can freely access, and in some cases, they offer securities from all over the world. 

Generally, these are platforms with free registration, so you can simply sign up to check if the selected titles are available. Some of these platforms are global giants accessible from almost anywhere in the world. 

Each platform, however, has its own fees, so it’s always advisable to check them first and perhaps choose the one with lower costs. 

There are also existing financial products, such as pension funds or savings plans, that allow for indirect investment in spot Bitcoin ETFs, but they are effectively a different form of investment compared to the actual purchase of ETF shares.

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.