Market Signal Briefing

October 01, 2025 16:22 ET

 | Source:

Range Resources Corporation

FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RANGE RESOURCES CORPORATION (NYSE: RRC) announced today that its third quarter 2025 financial results news release will be issued Tuesday, October 28 after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

A conference call to review the financial results is scheduled for Wednesday, October 29 at 9:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. CT). A webcast of the call may be accessed at www.rangeresources.com. The webcast will be archived for replay on the Company's website until November 29, 2025.

RANGE RESOURCES CORPORATION (NYSE: RRC) is a leading U.S. independent natural gas and NGL producer with operations focused in the Appalachian Basin. The Company is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. More information about Range can be found at www.rangeresources.com.

SOURCE: Range Resources Corporation

Range Investor Contacts:

Laith Sando, SVP – Corporate Strategy & Investor Relations
817-869-4267
[email protected]

NEW YORK, Oct. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities of KBR, Inc. (NYSE: KBR) between May 6, 2025 and June 19, 2025, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), of the important November 18, 2025 lead plaintiff deadline in the securities class action first filed by the Firm.

SO WHAT: If you purchased KBR 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 KBR class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=42136 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 November 18, 2025. 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 litigate 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 achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. 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 hundreds of millions 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, defendants throughout the Class Period made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) despite the knowledge that the U.S. Department of Defense’s Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) had, for months, had material concerns with HomeSafe’s ability to fulfill the Global Household Goods Contract, defendants claimed that the partnership was without issue, and would ramp up in future quarters; and (2) as a result, defendants’ statements about KBR’s business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the KBR class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=42136 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 or 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

Google has laid off more than 100 employees in design-related roles, CNBC has learned.

Earlier this week, the company laid off employees within the cloud unit's "quantitative user experience research" teams and "platform and service experience" teams, as well as some adjacent teams, according to internal documents viewed by CNBC.

The roles often focus on using data, surveys and other tools to understand and implement user behaviors that inform product development and design.

Google has halved some of the cloud unit's design teams, and many of those impacted are U.S.-based roles. Some employees have been given until early December to find a new role within the company.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Business Insider first reported that some cloud roles were eliminated.

Read more CNBC tech newsPalantir's stock is up 1,700% since its NYSE debut five years ago. Here's how it got thereDisney sent cease and desist letter to Character.AI over use of copyrighted charactersNvidia's market cap tops $4.5 trillion after string of AI infrastructure dealsAmazon's new Echo devices designed for Alexa+ start at $99The latest layoffs come as Google accelerates cuts to focus spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Since the beginning of the year, the search giant has offered voluntary exit packages to many U.S.-based units across the company and eliminated more than one-third of its managers overseeing small teams.

It also recently began pushing employees to use more AI in their daily work. 

So far, the company has offered buyouts to U.S.-based employees from units like human resources, hardware, search, ads, marketing, finance and commerce divisions. 

CNBC reported in August that Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employees the company would need "to be more efficient as we scale up so we don't solve everything with headcount."

Other megacaps have also seen recent cuts.

In July, Microsoft laid off 9,000 employees across roles and geographies. Meta has also had layoffs.

SummaryChevron Corporation's current valuation is attractive, largely driven by oil supply and oil price uncertainties.The market is overly concerned about oil uncertainties, and the natural gas catalyst is not priced in.A colder-than-average winter is expected to boost U.S. natural gas demand, supporting higher NG prices and benefiting CVX's profits.Above-average dividend yield, robust financials, and upside from the Hess deal further skew CVX stock's return/risk profile.I do much more than just articles at Envision Early Retirement: Members get access to model portfolios, regular updates, a chat room, and more. Learn More » Zbynek Pospisil/iStock via Getty Images

CVX stock: 2025 winter could be colder than normal I last analyzed Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) stock on August 19th in the article "Chevron Q2: Berkshire Hathaway Added More, So Did I

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of CVX 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.

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.

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HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- #MCi--Management Controls Inc. (MCi) announced today that its myTrack Connect for SAP S/4HANA is certified by SAP for clean core with SAP S/4HANA Cloud. The certification helps organizations seamlessly integrate contractor data management into their SAP environment while maintaining system integrity, auditability, and extensibility. “SAP customers need solutions that not only integrate securely but also maintain compliance with clean core principles,” said Michael Lewis, CTO.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Oct. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Momentive Software, the leading provider of cloud-based software, services, and payment solutions for purpose-driven organizations, today announced the appointment of Dustin Radtke as its interim Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Radtke will succeed Michael Henricks, who led the company since its launch last year. In addition to his appointment as interim CEO, Radtke will continue to serve as the company’s Chief Product and Development Officer.

“The Board has great confidence in appointing Dustin Radtke as interim CEO,” remarked Mike Mayoras, Executive Chairman of the Momentive Board. “His proven leadership, deep knowledge of our products, and strong relationships with our clients make him the clear choice to guide the company during this transition. A permanent CEO has been identified and will join the company in 2026 following the completion of prior commitments.”

Radtke joined Momentive Software in September 2024 as Chief Product Officer, leading a global team dedicated to driving product innovation and building visionary roadmaps that meet and exceed client expectations. Before joining Momentive, Radtke served in executive leadership roles at OnSolve, including Chief Technology Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to OnSolve, he held product leadership positions at Honeywell, JDA Software (now known as Blue Yonder), RedPrairie and Teklynx. He holds bachelor’s degrees in accounting and management information systems from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

"I am honored to step into the role of interim CEO and lead the company through this transition,” said Dustin Radtke, Interim CEO of Momentive Software. “Surrounded by a talented and dedicated team, I am confident in our ability to bring on better outcomes for our clients while maintaining a strong focus on innovation and growth.”

Mayoras added, “I’d like to thank Mike Henricks for his leadership of Momentive over the past year. The changes he made to the company’s structure, organization, and leadership team have positioned us for ongoing success.”

About Momentive Software
Momentive Software amplifies the impact of over 20,000 purpose-driven organizations in over 30 countries, exceeding $11 billion dollars in total funds raised. Mission-driven organizations and associations rely on the company’s cloud-based software and services to solve their most critical challenges: engage the people they serve, simplify operations, and grow revenue. Built with reliability at the core and strategically focused on events, careers, fundraising, financials, and operations, their solutions suite is bound by a common purpose to serve the organizations that make our communities a better place to live. Learn more at momentivesoftware.com.

Media Contact
Momentive Software | Heather Noll | [email protected]

After stumbling out of the gate this year, sliding more than 30% in the first four months, Apple ((AAPL - Free Report) ) has staged an impressive comeback. Over the past three months, the stock has outpaced nearly every other tech giant, trailing only Alphabet ((GOOGL - Free Report) ).

Earlier in the year, skeptics pointed to Apple’s lackluster AI strategy and slower growth compared with rivals like Microsoft ((MSFT - Free Report) ) and Alphabet. But a strong Q3 report, highlighted by a 13% year-over-year jump in iPhone sales and record services revenue, has helped the company reclaim leadership. The latest iPhone launch has also fueled optimism, delivering meaningful upgrades across the product line, including the new iPhone Air.

At the same time, Apple is signaling a more deliberate approach to AI, committing $500 billion in US investments tied to artificial intelligence, silicon engineering, and data centers. Additionally, rather than racing to build its own standalone AI model, Apple may be positioning itself as a strategic partner in the broader AI ecosystem and leveraging its strong position in eyeball real estate with mobile devices.

With strong momentum behind it, Apple now looks poised for a technical breakout that could carry shares to fresh record highs. Below, I’ll break down the trade setup.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Apple Stock Forms Bull FlagIn recent months, Apple’s price action has resembled that of a classic growth stock, climbing steadily higher. Over the past two weeks, shares have been consolidating into an increasingly tight bull flag, which typically signals an imminent breakout.

The key level to watch is $257. A decisive breakout and close above this resistance would confirm the bull flag and likely propel Apple to new record highs.

Today’s session briefly pushed above $257 before reversing back into the range, underscoring why it’s important to wait for a closing confirmation rather than intraday moves. On the downside, a close below support at $253.50 would suggest the stock needs more time to reset before attempting another leg higher.

Image Source: TradingView

Are Apple Shares Overvalued?Concerns about Apple’s valuation are valid. The stock is trading at an elevated multiple while sales are expected to grow only in the mid–single digits. That said, Apple still commands an extraordinary position with over 1.5 billion iPhone users and a rapidly expanding services business. It’s also worth noting that nearly all Mega cap tech stocks are trading at premium valuations.

Apple (AAPL - Free Report) : 34.6x forward earnings, above its five-year median of 28.6x, with earnings projected to grow 13.1% annually over the next three to five years.Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) : 33.7x forward earnings, above its five-year median of 32.6x, with earnings projected to grow 14.9% annually over the next three to five years.Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) : 24.4x forward earnings, above its five-year median of 22.6x, with earnings projected to grow 14.9% annually over the next three to five years.Based purely on earnings growth relative to valuation multiples, Alphabet screens as the most compelling opportunity. Still, factors such as earnings revisions, investor flows, and market sentiment must also be considered before drawing firm conclusions.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Should Investors Buy Shares in APPL?Apple’s rebound highlights the company’s unmatched ecosystem strength, but it also raises the question of whether now is the right time to buy. From a technical standpoint, the setup is constructive as a confirmed breakout above $257 would likely pave the way for new highs. Fundamentally, while Apple does trade at a premium, that premium reflects the stability of its cash flows, the stickiness of its user base, and the growth runway in services and AI-driven innovation.

Investors looking for a value play may find Alphabet more compelling on a relative basis, but Apple remains a core holding for those seeking exposure to high-quality, large-cap tech. With momentum building and strategic investments in AI and infrastructure gaining traction, the stock’s long-term story remains intact as flows continue to find their way into shares.

In short, Apple may not be cheap, but it has regained leadership and a breakout from here could reward investors willing to pay up for quality.

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LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The DJS Law Group announces that it is investigating claims on behalf of investors of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics (“MoonLake” or “the Company”) (NASDAQ: MLTX) for violations of the securities laws.

INVESTIGATION DETAILS: The investigation focuses on whether the Company issued misleading statements and/or failed to disclose information pertinent to investors. MoonLake’s communications to investors about its VELA-2 clinical trial were overly optimistic until September 29, 2025, when it announced that "intercurrent events in the higher-than-expected placebo arm precluded the study from achieving statistical significance in the week 16 primary endpoint using the composite strategy (HiSCR75, delta to placebo of 9%." Based on this news, MoonLake shares suffered a 90% decline in value.

If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, contact us to participate.

WHY DJS LAW GROUP? DJS Law Group’s primary focus is to enhance investor return through balanced counseling and aggressive advocacy. We specialize in securities class actions, corporate governance litigation, and domestic/international M&A appraisals. Our clients are some of the largest and most sophisticated hedge funds and alternative asset managers in the world. The litigation claims of our clients are extraordinarily valuable assets that demand respect, focus, and results.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and rules of ethics.

More News From DJS Law Group

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Trading information for KKR & Co is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., August 23, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

CompaniesNEW YORK/TORONTO, Oct 1 (Reuters) - KKR

(KKR.N), opens new tab is exploring a potential sale of its 40% stake in Pembina Gas Infrastructure, with its holding in the Canadian midstream operator expected to be valued at around $7 billion, four people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Pembina Gas Infrastructure was formed in 2022 as a joint venture between the investment firm and Pembina Pipeline Corp

(PPL.TO), opens new tab, and owns natural gas and natural gas liquids transportation, processing and storage infrastructure in western Canada.

Sign up here.

KKR has been working with investment bankers at Scotiabank in recent weeks to solicit potential buyer interest in the stake, said the sources, who cautioned that no sale was guaranteed and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential information.

KKR and Scotiabank declined comment. Pembina Pipeline did not respond to comment requests.

The KKR stake in Pembina Gas Infrastructure is expected to attract interest from other alternative asset managers and infrastructure funds, the sources said. Such buyers are drawn to minority stakes in such assets because they can pocket steady returns from the revenues earned without needing operational knowledge.

Opportunities to own substantial stakes in large-scale Canadian pipeline assets are rare, which gives the Pembina Gas stake additional scarcity value, the sources added.

Deal activity has remained strong for the Canadian energy sector this year, gaining attention from investors as companies seek to consolidate and build scale on growing demand for infrastructure and energy projects to meet rising energy needs.

When Pembina Gas was formed, the parties said the venture was worth around C$11.4 billion ($8.17 billion) in total, meaning an exit for KKR at the mooted price would be significantly profitable for the investment firm. Since formation, Pembina Gas has grown through bringing built projects online and acquiring further assets.

Pembina Gas has capacity to process around 5 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas, with assets within both the Montney and Duvernay shale formations, according to its website.

($1 = 1.3948 Canadian dollars)

Reporting by David French in New York and Nivedita Balu in Toronto; Additional Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary; Editing by Nia Williams

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Nivedita Balu is a correspondent for Reuters based in Toronto, where she reports on Canadian banks and financial services. She previously covered U.S. tech, media and telecom companies, and consumer and retail companies in Bengaluru.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The law firm of Kirby McInerney LLP reminds investors its investigation on behalf of Car-Mart, Inc. (“Car-Mart” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:CRMT) investors concerning the Company’s possible violation of the federal securities laws or other unlawful business practices.

[LEARN MORE ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION]

What Happened?

On July 15, 2025, Car-Mart disclosed it would delay filing its annual report because “management identified the need to enhance disclosures related to loan modifications for borrowers experiencing financial difficulty.” On this news, the price of Car-Mart shares declined by $3.12 per share, or approximately 5.17%, from $60.38 per share on July 14, 2025 to close at $57.26 on July 15, 2025.

Then, on July 30, 2025, the Company disclosed that it had “concluded that certain previously issued financial statements should no longer be relied upon,” due to omissions in the “disclosure related to loan modifications made to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty” including the “qualitative and quantitative information about the types of modifications utilized by the Company,” “the financial effect of the modification by type of modification,” and “receivable performance in the 12 months after a modification.” On this news, the price of Car-Mart shares declined by $3.70 per share, or approximately 7.51%, from $49.27 per share on July 29, 2025 to close at $45.57 on July 30, 2025.

Finally, on September 4, 2025, Car-Mart released its first quarter fiscal 2025 financial results, revealing that “sales volumes declined 5.7% to 13,568 units compared to 14,391 in the prior year,” which the Company attributed to “[prioritizing] booking the Company’s strongest-performing customer rankings” and “vehicle quality aimed at controlling repair costs downstream and selling to a better credit quality customer.” On this news, the price of Car-Mart shares declined by $8.14 per share, or approximately 18.23%, from $44.65 per share on September 3, 2025 to close at $36.51 on September 4, 2025.

What to Do Next?

If you acquired Car-Mart securities, have information, or would like to learn more about this investigation, contact Thomas W. Elrod of Kirby McInerney LLP by email at [email protected], or fill out the contact form below to discuss your rights or interests with respect to these matters without any cost to you.

[CONTACT US]

Kirby McInerney LLP is a New York-based plaintiffs’ law firm concentrating in securities, antitrust, whistleblower, and consumer litigation. The firm’s efforts on behalf of shareholders in securities litigation have resulted in recoveries totaling billions of dollars.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

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.

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Kirk Spano runs Margin of Safety Investing and shares what it means to be an all cap investor (0:25). Using options, covered calls (14:30). AST SpaceMobile as an example (19:00). AI and large cap names (25:00). QE has changed everything (36:00). Bitcoin, gold, crypto (46:00).

Transcript

Rena Sherbill: Very happy to welcome back Kirk Spano to Investing Experts. Always great to talk to you. For those who have forgotten or never knew that your investing group on Seeking Alpha is called Margin of Safety Investing.

I wanted to start - we had another analyst on a couple episodes ago, Courage and Conviction Investing. I'm not sure if you're familiar with his work. He focuses mostly on small and mid cap companies. We've had him on a few times like we've had you on a few times. You're both thoughtful analysts.

And his take, not to get too far out of the weeds already to start, but his take was, he's focused on small and mid cap companies, so he's a bit depressed in terms of his returns so far this year.

And he updated us on where those stocks are and how he thinks about those stocks and we had a few commenters talking about it's kind of a bummer to listen to somebody be bummed out about where their stocks are going, where their portfolio is.

Whereas I feel like it's super refreshing to hear somebody give kind of a somewhat downhearted take amid a somewhat downhearted moment for their stocks. And looking at the markets, it's a bit hard to suss things out. I'm appreciative of people taking a real take, especially when it's hard to know exactly what to do.

So all of this is to say, you're a thoughtful analyst. You're a thoughtful investor. You're a smart guy. How are you looking at this present moment with the depressing news, with the depressing things coming out, coupled with the somewhat bullish announcements which there are to be had? Where is your mind at as we approach October 2025?

KS: I am an all cap investor, so I will just go where the money is. And that has helped me for a very, very long time.

I have been known as a small and mid cap investor, but my biggest wins were buying Facebook (META) when they crashed after their IPO back in 2013, I think it was, maybe in '12, right around there.

About the same time, I wrote some articles about buying Apple (AAPL), when everybody hated Apple, and I bought Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) early. I was in Tesla (TSLA) way back in 2014 to '16, so I got in that early.

A lot of my big winners actually were big caps, large caps that became mega caps. So I'm not completely depressed by the small cap performance, but there is a systematic element to that that I think people probably overlook when they take a look at the cycles.

And that is that about 70% of the companies in the Russell 2000 are not profitable, and they probably will never be profitable for the most part. So that index is a crummy place to invest. However, it is a great place to pick out stocks.

If you can find catalyst driven companies in the Russell 2000 and scale into them, and we have a way that we do it that makes us money, then you can, on the basis of your stock picking, do very well.

So we have notably invested in companies like AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) and Rocket Lab (RKLB) in the last couple of years.

We bought Palantir (PLTR) under $10. I stupidly sold it in the forties, and I'm living to regret that decision to sell. So ride your winners is a real thing.

We're still in AST SpaceMobile and Rocket Lab that we bought under 5. But we have several others that have just been chopping along for a couple of years. Well, the stocks that chop along, the ones that the catalyst get delayed or missed, we sell a lot of covered calls as well as cash secured puts.

And what we have is a option wheel strategy that several other people practice on Seeking Alpha. We use a lot of technical analysis. So we have an option wheel strategy that uses technical analysis that allows us to sell cash secured puts a little closer to dips or in dips and sell covered calls on some of the rallies.

And it's an imperfect strategy. It's never gonna be, you know, perfect.

But as Vince Lombardi said, if you just keep trying to make good decisions and you work hard and you strive for perfection, you can reach excellence. So I recently, published my my performance for the year.

We're up 36, 37%, and it's mainly on the back of some good stock picking. AST SpaceMobile and Rocket Lab have been a big part of that. Very Peter Lynch have a few big winners, and it carries the day.

But systematically, we have sold a lot of options, a lot of covered calls, a lot of cash secured puts, and just grinding out all that income, especially in tax deferred accounts that works well, we we've been able to do well.

So as a guy very empathetic to be in a small and mid cap stock picker, I get it that a lot of people have had a rough time, but I think that it's largely because they didn't have a way to deal with an index that didn't do well, so I would never buy (IWM). And they didn't have a way to grind things out.

If you're a baseball player, you can be a home run hitter or you can be a singles hitter or you can be very well rounded and do all the things. We try to do all the things.

We're not great at everything or things don't always work out perfect. We've had clearly some of our dogs. You know, one of my one of my favorite stocks out there is a little refinery company called (AMTX).

And it reminds me of a company called Tesoro, which is now a little company called Marathon Petroleum that I invested in fifteen years ago. And the catalyst to drive that stock up have gotten delayed by the California government and by the US Government, under Gavin Newsom and Joe Biden. They promised a bunch of things that did not happen, and I'm a pretty sympathetic to that side of the aisle guy.

But here under President Trump, things started to happen. Those catalysts have started to manifest, and maybe this is the year or next year is the year that an AMTX goes up.

When you small cap invest, you're going to get a lot of delayed things, and that can depress the stock price, especially stocks that don't have a ton of institutional investment.

When institutional investment is below half or around half, retail investors can whip it around. You're subject to the trading rooms and the discord rooms and the hedge funds putting pressure on small cap stocks because they can overwhelm the share price, which is something I'm writing an article about so people understand how small cap stocks get ganged up on by groups of traders that are loosely affiliated through social media and trading rooms.

And I think that if people understand that, they can devise a strategy to get through these two and three year downturns or or choppy periods without getting depressed.

So I think there's always a strategy or a tactic to deal with what's going on out there. And and the question becomes, do you have the tools in your toolbox to use those tactics and strategies?

And always remember that with the SMID cap investing, you are really looking for stock picking. The indexes won't necessarily do it for you, in a day and age when over half of the money gets just put into the S&P 500 index.

So in a world where you have efficient markets and inefficient markets, it's the inefficient markets, the ones where there's not a systematic push up on prices like there is with the S&P 500 (SP500), the inefficient markets, small caps, mid caps, emerging markets are probably the places where you have to be more selective, either pick industries or individual stocks.

So that's kind of the world view on small and mid caps. I think that if people pick well and they're patient, things generally work out. And I think that the thing that people really have to avoid is running out of patience. People sell this time of year and say, I'm taking the tax loss.

Then the stock goes straight up. That is not something that works out well for people. I have a stock out there right now that dropped maybe 30 or 40% from its peak. And somebody who bought it at the peak sold it a month later, and now it's back up. And they're like, well, now what do I do? Well, you got your got your little tax write off.

However, you missed out on a 30 or 40% rebound rally. If you're not a great trader, don't trade and I know that everybody wants to take a tax write off because, oh, I can write it off against something else. But the reality is that if you're truly making good stock picks, you just wanna hold them for the most part.

There are occasions to harvest some tax losses, but, generally, it's not the end of the year. It's usually the middle of the year. And that has to do with seasonality and the way the institutions invest and the way they push prices around.

So I just caution anybody who is depressed about their small and mid cap performance from just selling at this point. Because at this point in the year, you don't know when the next rally starts.

Seasonally, it'll be November. So is it really the right time to sell? I doubt it if you've selected well. I wouldn't trade out on the volatility at this time usually. I mean, company specific, you might want to.

But in general, people losing patience and taking tax losses at the inopportune time, is usually a bad idea. Most corporations and institutions, they take their tax losses months earlier than retail public.

So they're buying at the end of the year when other people when retail people are selling, you don't wanna be selling to the big guys when you're close to a bottom price. That is the classic trap, retail sells closer to the bottom, and institutional or corporate investors or family offices invest when retail is selling.

So don't be their sucker, I guess, would be the way that I would put it at this point because I know a lot of people are tempted to sell right now. And if you haven't already sold your losers, you may you may not want to.

What you might wanna sell right now are a few of your winners if you don't think that they have a lot of upside left, especially going into the shutdown, which as of this recording, we're just a few hours away from.

So if we get volatility on an extended shutdown, then the shutdown of a few days won't matter. But if this becomes an extended shutdown of the government, we could take a look back at 2018 and see that the threat of the shutdown ended up correlating largely with a sell off in the stock market.

Will history repeat or rhyme? I don't know. But it might. So I've been encouraging people to manage the risk on the large caps that have run so far up and they're at historically high valuations, not so much the small and the mid caps.

I think that those are some of the again, if you're a good stock picker, great place to to to accumulate and to sell cash secured puts and generate some income.

And some of the large caps, not all of them, but a lot of them, they're at the highest price to earnings ratio and peg ratios not only in the last five years, but really in the last twenty five years. And that is, to me, a bit of a warning.

RS: Definitely some concerning times when you're looking at some of these valuations and other metrics that you've pointed to and some of these large cap stock questions that remain.

I'm curious if you would give us maybe another one to two minutes on when and why you use options and covered calls and when you utilize those tools?

KS: I'm a believer in a relatively concentrated stock portfolio that sits alongside of a more diversified ETF asset allocation, and it's worked for me.

Now that doesn't mean that it will work for everybody, but it's worked for me, so I keep doing it. I'm of the Mark Cuban school, figure out something that works and just keep doing it until it breaks.

So a handful of ETFs as my asset allocation backbone or core with about 20 stocks is where I gravitate to. In the stock portfolio and even some of the ETFs, there are pretty robust option markets.

And because the number of traders has roughly doubled since pre COVID and because the use of margin and the use of options has gone through the roof, you can sell options at very high premiums.

Now I've been doing this thirty years as of this year. This is my thirtieth year. And my mentor was an option seller, mainly covered calls. And after the financial crisis and the start of the first rounds of quantitative easing, it started to become apparent that the cash secured put selling would become a pretty good strategy.

Prior to that, almost everybody just sold covered calls. Famously, some guy in Omaha named Buffett, I think his name is, has sold cash secured puts against the S&P 500 a number of times in his career.

Because he has a huge pile of cash from the operating businesses at Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) (BRK.B), he wanted to increase the return on that cash. So he would sell a cash secured put on the S&P 500 with the reasoning that regardless of what it does in the short term, in the long term, it goes up.

So he could generate a bigger return on that cash by selling a cash secured put. Over the years, especially since 2016, when QE three or four or twist or infinity or whatever it was called happened, cash secured put selling on the dips has been an incredibly good strategy.

So if you take a look at a chart of the S&P 500, what you'll see is that buying the dips has been a great strategy. And, really, any stock that over five or ten years is is chopping its way higher, selling cash secured puts on the dips just like buying the dips has been a very good strategy.

The reason we sell cash secured puts over and over again when the market is choppy or when it's down is because the volatility in the market and the inherent gambling nature of all these retail traders that are new to the markets drives the premiums up.

And you get a very big internal rate of return, a very big annualized rate of return on selling cash secured puts on stocks that you would love to have assigned to you and own at these slightly lower prices.

And the thing is is that probably three quarters of those puts expire if you're even a decent stock picker because stocks gravitate higher about three quarters of the time.

So when you take a look at the amplification of those premiums due to the gambling nature of the markets today, your time value deterioration ends up giving you internal rates of return of annual rates of thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, 80% on your cash that is securing those puts over and over and over again.

So, mechanically, when you sell a cash secured put, if you think of it like setting a limit order to buy, but you're getting paid for it, that's the way that we think of it.

So AST SpaceMobile (ASTS), a stock that I told everybody on Seeking Alpha to buy when it was $5 a share. The article is out there. It went up into the fifties, just barely, and we sold covered calls at $60, 70, $80. And we're getting $2, 3, 4, 5 a share. Well, that was basically our cost basis.

Those covered calls expired because the stock chopped along and went sideways and went and even corrected into the thirties. Well, when the stock was heading down to 45 and 40 and for a minute was in the thirties a month or so ago, we sold 40 and 45 and even $35 cash secured puts because we would have loved to buy more of the stock at those prices.

But we were getting premiums, and you can go ahead and check this through Fidelity or Schwab or whoever you use. We were getting premiums of $4, 5, even $6 a share.

It's a fantastic strategy. And now the stock is back up to $46, 47, whatever it is today. Probably all those cash secured puts are going to expire in the next month or two. We can buy some of them back if we want to at a profit. So that's where some management comes in.

You have to decide, do you really want it assigned to you or not if the stock prices fall? But that is a strategy that with a little bit of technical analysis and we don't use a lot of technical analysis.

We kinda cheat. We use some very vanilla indicators. We use the relative strength index, RSI, but we don't measure it daily. We're not short term traders. We measure it weekly.

So when you measure something in the stock market, you pick a time frame by the minute, by fifteen minutes, by an hour, by four hours, by a day, by a week, by a month. The weekly time frame within a within a cycle, within a full market cycle, tends to give the best signal for people who would consider themselves more position traders than swing traders.

So we're more position traders. That means that we actually like to hold our investments for quarters and years. We don't do a lot of things that are based on days or, a month or a quarter. We would like to own our holdings a a pretty long time, especially longer than a year so that we can get the capital gains tax break.

So that weekly time frame on RSI, when it approaches oversold, right, forty, thirty, right down in there, you can generally sell cash secured puts on a stock.

Again, caveat that you picked a good stock, and generate a big premium. Probably, it's not assigned to you because it's already oversold and time will drive it back up.

But if it is assigned to you, you're getting a pretty good price. So you're buying low. So you win win. Either you buy low or you just keep all that premium with an annualized return of some big double digit number in most cases.

Every now and then, you hit a home run and it's higher. Every now and then, something you have to close and you don't make any money.

But on average, you're making for us, it's been around 30%. So you take a look at that and you're like, it's a pretty good strategy if your foundation of stock picking is pretty good to begin with.

So you just use, like the Karate Kid. The new Karate Kid movie just came out. Use your your opponent's leverage against them just like the Karate Kid did. That's how he won his fights.

There's so much gambling in the stock market today. Selling a cash secured put is like being the casino. You're the one getting the VIG. I love getting the VIG. Pay me. Pay me over and over and over again.

And if you do that systematically and again on a foundation of good stock selection to begin with, you can beat the market has been our experience, and you can do it with roughly the risk of a balanced portfolio because we typically have forty, fifty, 60% of our portfolio in cash with the other forty, fifty, 60% in stocks.

But that cash portion, you know, only gets assigned into the stock market, into the stocks that we have sold cash secured puts on if prices drop 20%. Well, that's a pretty good margin of safety, 20%, plus we have the income that we've collected. So, you know, we're roughly taking 60 to 80% of the risk of the S&P 500, but we're beating its return.

To me, that's a pretty good risk adjusted return, and I've been doing it pretty successfully now since about 2016, since I've been on Seeking Alpha and more QE.

I think there is a question to be begged, which is, are we gonna get QE again? Are they gonna keep the markets highly liquid? I think that's a big conversation.

I think the answer is probably, but with long and variable lags.

RS: I'm tempted to get into the QE conversation, but let's stick for a second on on the stock side of things.

There's so much talk about AI and speaking of the S&P 500 and what's actually in that and speaking of diversified, how diversified it isn't. What would you say about large cap names and the tech sector?

You were also one of the first people to come on Investing Experts and talk about how you see the AI play more in health care. You were talking about Pfizer (PFE) than you do necessarily in the quote, unquote, tech sector. Talk to us about how you see large cap names and how you see that developing over, let's say, the next year.

KS: So when you manage a hedge fund, which I do not, but when you manage a hedge fund, you have what what are called channel checks.

And I have developed since I've been in the press back in 2011, I've been able to develop some pretty good channel checks.

And I have a number of clients in Silicon Valley who have helped me recognize some things a little earlier than other people. So not only was I pretty early in Facebook, Apple, and Google, and I actually my first stock one of the first stocks I ever bought was Microsoft (MSFT), way back in the late nineteen eighties for a high school project.

They have helped me understand it. I just got off the phone actually with somebody who works at SuperMicro because I helped them with their money. And I think the AI is the most important thing since the Internet. And I think the Internet provides us some good analogies for what's going on.

First off, when the Internet was built out and we had the dotcom boom, there are all kinds of companies that weren't profitable and were never going to make a profit, but they built up all this Internet infrastructure.

And, ultimately, the Internet became very cheap, and the and the companies that made money on the Internet either had software as a service or something to sell.

So while you had (QQQ), you know, at the time, I think there was an extra Q, drop whatever it was, 80% off of its peak, that was kind of the first iteration of this super long term technology super cycle that we've been in.

Big, big secular trend. And the culmination to this point who knows what we'll invent in twenty or thirty years? But the culmination of all of this at this point is AI. I think AI is bigger than the Internet because the applications for business and for changing standard of living are bigger.

It is understated how much our quality of life can be improved with AI if, and there's a lot of ifs, if it doesn't eat us, right, if it doesn't kill us somehow, and if it doesn't make our brains turn to mush.

One of the things that I've seen with AI is people will go and use whatever their favorite AI is. I use Perplexity. And they just type in half a question, and they get an answer, and they just think it's gospel. Well, first of all, AI doesn't reason. Not at this point. And it really is just an aggregation of what it finds on the Internet.

So the looser your question, the looser the answer and the less valuable it is. So when you use AI, you have to ask good questions. You have to build the conversation to get the information you want, and then you have to source check.

And almost nobody clicks on those source links, but you should because you'll find a lot of garbage and a lot of old stuff. So when you work with AI, there is a better and worse way to use it.

I don't know which way we're going to go on aggregate. I'm afraid that on aggregate, we use it worse, but we'll see. For me, it beats the hell out of scanning PDFs and doing spreadsheets myself.

I have become at least at least 500% more efficient since I started using AI five years ago. The first AI I bought for the financial industry with a really hard to use dashboard was $20,000 a year. Sentio. AlphaSense and them have merged since.

Today, I pay $200 a year, and I might end up paying $2 for an even better version. But I pay $200 a year for the Perplexity Pro, which is, well, 99.9% cheaper. 99% cheaper. And it's at least 10 times better. I don't have to learn a dashboard. I just have to build my queries in a way that I actually get the data and the information that I need to make decisions and analysis.

So I think that the day is coming where we are much more efficient, not to the point where we lose jobs because I think that most jobs in a service based economy, which we are, 70% of jobs are service based, instead of working sixty hour weeks or fifty hour weeks to get ahead, the forty hour work week for the workaholic will become a thing.

And for everybody else, it'll be a thirty hour work week. Lot of four day work weeks maybe, three and a half, whatever.

I don't think we're gonna lose jobs. I think we're just gonna work few hours to get it done. And I think for corporations, that leads to a pretty big improvement in margins if they can maintain their prices.

The thing is that in free markets, which we don't really have, but we have, you know, kind of a hybrid type of market. We have a lot of oligopolies. There is often a race to the bottom in pricing.

And when Warren Buffett would talk about companies with durable comparative advantage or competitive advantage. What he's really getting at is pricing power, and he talked about that in lots of his letters.

As investors, we need to find the companies that can maintain their pricing power while their cost of doing business becomes cheaper because AI helps them become more efficient.

Some companies, this will work very well for. Other companies, it won't matter so much.

So you have to, as an investor, find companies that can maintain their margins because they can maintain their pricing. And at the same time, the company internally becomes more efficient largely on the back of AI.

That is what I'm looking for. And I think that there's a lot of winners out there. I think a lot of industrial companies will do well. I think a lot of pharma companies will do well.

I think it's the big pharma that will do better than the small biotechs. I think a lot of people out there are in love with the idea of investing in small biotechs because they might have the next big thing.

But in a world of data where large quantitative models are coming, right, right now, you don't get that with Perplexity or Gemini or OpenAI.

But the quantitative models, not LLMs, which are large language models, but LQMs, which are large quantitative models. And you can go to a website called sandbox a q or sandbox a I or something to to find out about that.

The companies with gigantic datasets like Pfizer or pick a big company with the money to pay for computing power probably will be able to do what the upstarts have always done all by themselves.

They won't have to pay a premium to a small cap biotech because they want whatever thing it is that they're they're working on.

They'll just say that's a good idea. We're gonna do it too. And because they're gigantic and have money and they have compute, they don't have to pay a premium to a small cap biotech.

So there are giant companies of big advantages that are undervalued. I think Pfizer and Ford (F) are two of them, and there's a bunch more.

The users of AI ultimately are the ones that I think win. And I think that that is good for a small guy like me. I think it's good for a giant company with a big checkbook and a lot of data, and there's probably lots of winners in between.

But at the same time, in other spots, it'll just lead to an erosion of pricing power and more competition. And it's hard to make money when there's a lot of competition.

So where are the oligopolies to invest in? Where are the companies that will go from being undervalued to being overvalued as they become the narrative darling of retail investors?

They're out there. They're hard to find. Large caps are are mostly an efficient market. Most of the information is priced in.

But every now and then, you'll find some large caps where the information is not priced in. To me, the sweet spot is mid caps because they're undercovered by Wall Street. They're underinvested because indexers don't get in there.

And the mid caps that get sucked into the S&P 500 over time, to me, those are the ones that have the really rare combination of big upside without a lot of risk.

And there's not many of those out there, few dozen a year. But that's probably where I hunt the most. And I think that those mid cap stocks that benefit from AI, probably are what most retail investors should be looking at.

Because a company that goes from not on the S&P 500 to on the S&P 500, now it gets a chronic bid.

Because half the money goes into the S&P 500. So if you get into the S&P 500right now that you kinda have a new floor on your price, You've become much more correlated to the S&P 500 at that point.

So, you know, mind your S curves, but those mid caps that you're getting pulled into the S&P 500 over the next few years, to me, that's the biggest potential return you can have without taking a lot of outside risk.

RS: Do you want to get into QE now?

KS: This is this is your circus. I'm just the clown.

RS: This is my show? Alright. Dance. Dance that QE dance, Kirk.

KS: I'm an economist, and QE has really changed everything for a very long time, going back to before the Roman Empire. And the Romans are the ones that always get cited, but other empires did it too.

They all printed money. So when a government overspends or just doesn't tax appropriately, which is what I think the case is in the United States, they end up printing money when they get upside down.

And the United States is 37 plus trillion dollars upside down right now. And I know that there's a lot of fringe theories out there about repricing gold, and we'd be out of debt.

Well, that's not true. Because if even if we repriced gold to 80% of the spot price, you know, you're you're you're only looking at another trillion dollars. So, you know, we got 37,000,000,000,000 of debt.

And if you take a look at the way the tax code is structured and as I've gotten wealthier, I've gotten more tax breaks. I don't understand it, but I take them. About half of all the tax breaks since 1981 went to 1% of people.

The other half of the tax breaks are spread out across the other 99%. And, ultimately, I forget whose study it was. I think actually it was the Heritage Foundation, which is pretty conservative.

About 80% of the tax breaks since Reagan have basically correlated directly to the federal debt. So 80% of that 37,000,000,000,000 is tax breaks, and about 20% is is new inflation adjusted spending.

So when you take a look at how this all works, we got into a situation going into the financial crisis where leverage was high, quality was bad, right, just as a shortcut to understanding it.

And there's it was a perfect storm of, like, 10 things. But, basically, leverage was high and quality was bad. Easy way to understand it. Everything collapsed. There was a domino effect. Everything fell for about a year, and then they started printing money.

And then things stalled out a couple years later, so they printed more. And then there was an election coming, and things stalled out, so they printed more. So quantitative easing technically is not printing money, but really it is.

Because you are borrowing the finance today, and, theoretically, that money is going to get paid back, but it's probably not, at least not in today's dollar terms.

If the last five years are an indication or the last ten years are an indication, we are going to inflate away somewhere between 5080% of the debt.

That is very, very good for asset owners and very, very bad for everybody else. So your defense against more quantitative easing, the, quote, unquote, not money printing, but it is, is to own assets.

And you need to pick carefully. And I think that buying mediocre assets because all the dividend is high is usually a bad idea. You don't wanna buy mediocre assets. You wanna buy what is undervalued and has a good growth rate.

Something that you can project out two, three, four, five years and use the next one or two years to build a position in. I know that that's not the sexiest way to invest, but it tends to work.

And if you follow the big money, if you really are into how money works, if you're really into who are the smartest people and money, you will keep coming back to most of the the private equity guys.

The private equity guys and ladies are ridiculously smart.

When I was at the Hart Energy Conference, it was fun to listen to some engineers and executives, but it was useful to listen to the private equity guys who a year and a half ago told me that US oil production was peaking.

Had it maybe a little bit higher to go, but in the next few years, it was gonna peak. That's useful information. What was even more useful is that they were all on cash out programs.

They were all selling their oil and gas assets. More oil than gas are still holding their gas, but that's next. And pivoting to other things, largely AI data centers.

This is a year and a half ago.

What have you seen in the last year and a half? Oil stocks and gas stocks chopped along. AI stocks and AI data centers and things related to those semiconductors have done very well.

Private equity guys are saying that a year and a half ago, wouldn't you like to have done what they did a year and a half ago? So you ask, what are they doing today?

Weirdly, they're buying natural gas again because it's come down in price again. They're buying a lot of alternative investments excuse me, alternative energy investments because those are beat the heck.

They're figuring out what parts of the AI stack that they should be invested in. Who's getting squeezed? Who's not getting squeezed?

The guy I was talking to today was, from SuperMicro. And, you know, he can't tell me secret things, but he can kinda tell me the trends in the industry. And he made a point that NVIDIA (NVDA) squeezes everybody, kind of the way that Apple did.

So if you study Apple and how they squeezed all their suppliers and all the people involved with them over the years, you can kinda see where NVIDIA is going.

So understanding those dynamics within the context of money printing and where the big money is going, and I say follow the money over and over and over again.

That's what my community knows me. Over at Margin of Safety Investing, I make them say it before I say it. And what should we do in this situation?

Follow the money. And that's what I'm doing. So now that I have some money and a lot of the people that I work with have some money, kind of to an extent we are the money, a lot of two percenters. And we're trying to figure out, what are the people with even more money than us doing? Because they will lead things, but they'll be a year or two early because they want the cheap price.

And they can look out two or three years. And even though they don't get everything right, they're more right than wrong, and they're getting a cheap price.

Would you have liked to have bought, pick a stock, Tesla? Let's say Tesla. I know it's a nice battleground stock, and I've been on both sides. I've been long and short that one.

If I had told you in 2016 to buy Tesla, what would you have told me? You're out of your mind. And then it went up a 100 fold. You know what happens over and over again? I get the question after something's gone up 10 or 20 times.

Should I buy that now? No. Why didn't you buy it two years ago when it was 90% cheaper? Because people have a hard time looking forward. Most people look at today if they're pretty good, but almost everybody actually looks backwards.

People are driving forward, looking in their rear view mirror. Look out through the windshield. That'd be my advice. Trust yourself to make those good decisions by doing the reading.

Jimmy Rogers back in 1998, 1997 said in a Fortune magazine interview what was the best advice I ever got. Some guy on an airplane told me just read everything because 90% of the people don't read anything.

So if you're in the 10% of the people that read as much as you can, you're gonna be better than 90% of the people out there even if you're not particularly great at it.

Just by having the information, your brain will work on it, heck, when you're sleeping. So that's the approach that we bring. AI has made it way more efficient because we can ask AI the questions that we would normally ask without AI and get all the information really a thousand times faster.

When I when I do research using an AI now, I spend an hour or two. And every time it tells me I'll have your answer in eleven minutes, I go and get a coffee. I come back. The answer is there. I'm like, okay. That's part of what I needed. Let me ask a follow-up. And within two hours, I've got everything that it would have taken me weeks and weeks to get, and now I just gotta read it.

These are the four things that are important. These are the eight things that are important, whatever it is. So all these things are culminating together.

We have the AI revolution. We have certain companies with expanding margins, other companies with contracting margins, some with revenue that's growing, others that's just chopping sideways. Some companies are providing the financing.

Other companies are getting financed. The debt equations. So if you can pick in that environment without getting despondent about it just seems like there's nothing but negative news, which is which is BS, by the way.

The world has been getting better every generation since the dark ages, and it will continue to get better unless we blow it all up.

If you feel like there's a lot of negativity, it's just because that's what sells on the Internet, and the Internet makes everything a 100 times more potent.

RS: It's hard to be patient. It's hard to be prescient. And and to your point, I remember being on an airplane not that long after 9/11, and this European man was sitting beside me. And I was traveling with my close to newborn daughter. And I was saying it's so weird to be flying and the world's going crazy. And in a very European, very sober perspective, he was like, the world's always been crazy. We just know more about it now.

And, yeah, I think that's probably true even though it really is hard to to keep that in mind some days, some minutes. Can I ask you one more thing before we leave listeners for today?

I feel like with everything that we've been talking about and given the fact that you have some perspective on it, maybe we end the conversation with a minute or two on gold (XAUUSD:CUR), Bitcoin (BTC-USD), crypto, and what that means as investors, observers, life participants, perhaps.

KS: So just a little background. I started investing in gold back in 1999 because a client of mine put me on to it. Clients have been a very good source of information for me because smart people have somehow thought that I was one of them.

And so he got me on gold in 1999, and we we bought a ton of it, $3,400 an ounce. And when it ran to 1,900 in 2012, I think it was, we sold most of it.

And we so we actually just we we started coming down, and we sold around 1,600. So in twelve years, we doubled our money twice, basically, which is what private equity guys look for, by the way.

So I've always been enamored with gold. I buy it physically. I don't really trade it too much, but for funsies, we will go to estate sales and little shops when we travel, and we'll buy gold, physical gold.

Buy coins. We'll buy jewelry because I like the added value of that component. Interestingly, it has outperformed or or basically kept up with the S&P 500, over the last five years, I believe it is.

And I think it's real close over ten and twenty years as well. So it's it's been a good investment if you just bought (GLD) or something like that.

I think that gold ultimately has a top, and we know that it's incredibly correlated to money supply. So if money supply keeps going up, gold will basically just keep up with it.

I don't think there's a big gap anymore between kinda think of it like a valuation. I don't think there's a big gap between what gold is worth and what gold could be worth anymore.

I think that gap has been closed. If you take a look at the website Trading Economics, they have a good chart for showing gold to the US money supply.

And when that those lines separate, you can expect them to come back. So, basically, when alligator jaws open up, what do alligator jaws do? They close. So right now, there are no alligator jaws between M2 money supply and the price of gold. So that means there's not a lot of excess return.

That doesn't mean that gold won't go up. It just won't be the outperforming asset that it's been since about 2013 or 2012, right in there.

Bitcoin. I first bought Bitcoin in 2016 right before it shot up. Completely lucky. I actually did it from a cell phone, and then I transferred it to a hard drive just because some guy talked me into it. Didn't really understand what I was doing.

Ten months later, eleven months later, I'm at a Christmas party, and some kid who was a pitcher on a baseball team I coached, 20 years old or something. He was 21. Must have been 21. He was in a bar. Then again, we're in Milwaukee. You don't really get carded most of the time. So, anyway, he's 21, and she's asking me about Bitcoin.

He had just bought it, and it had just gone up just a ton of 400%, whatever it did. And I was like, so I traded out, and I took my profit. And then it crashed, and I bought it again.

Well, I've done that a few times. The last time that I traded into Bitcoin was an article on Seeking Alpha, November 2022. I told people start buying Bitcoin. And then it went up to 50 something thousand, and it kept going up.

And now it I told people to keep buying the dips, and I said it's gonna get to 100. When it got to 100 and then dropped below 100, I sold it near the start of the year. So I've missed a couple percent this year.

I think that Bitcoin is super interesting. I think that the theory behind it makes sense, but there's a problem. And the problem is that if governments ever suffer because of Bitcoin, they will attack it.

So governments have to make money on this somehow. Otherwise, it will get attacked, and they'll get rid of it. People have to understand the evolution of Bitcoin.

Whoever invented it probably had a certain idea. And whether the idea was to launder money out of China or not may or may not been part of that idea. But that is the first thing that Bitcoin got used for was to launder money out of China.

That was what it did for years. The Chinese owned most of the Bitcoin for a long time. So what do we know about Bitcoin? It's easy to use for laundering money. That's why Silk Road and other criminals have used it.

The conversion of it back into dollars at this point or into a local currency at this point is actually fairly easy for the criminal, enforcement, right, for the for the for the FBI or whoever to to detect.

So it's not as good for laundering money as it used to be, but a lot of these other cryptos are. And I think that we have to understand the ecosystem of crypto.

Ethereum (ETH-USD) Solana (SOL-USD), some of the cryptos that are used essentially to title things or affect transactions or be used in place of software as a service or or with software as a service are one category.

Bitcoin, which is largely in my mind digital gold if it's never, legislated out of existence is another category. And then, frankly, you have to just call them what they are, sh*t coins, all the other crypto.

So you have functional crypto, you have digital gold, and you have shit coins. Stay away from the shit coins would be my best advice. I think that Ethereum and Solana are important. I think that they will get adopted.

I think that there are several others that the World Bank and that the IMF and that all sorts of other big financial institutions are using, Ripple, Chainlink, Avalanche. You know what they do with the Avalanche?

California used the Avalanche to put every car in the state's title on a blockchain. So there are uses for some of these, and, ultimately, the surviving blockchains and cryptos will become an oligopoly, and they'll have value.

The value won't be in the speculative price that you're seeing now, but it'll be in what they actually generate in fee revenue.

And there's a lot of disappointment coming on that because the fee revenue necessarily needs to be less than software as a service generating revenue. Otherwise, what's the point?

So there is some race to the bottom there. That race to the bottom hasn't started yet. There is still a speculative mania coming on a lot of cryptos.

And if I'm right on the macro side and we get a correction and some sort of money printing to follow in the next year or two, then a lot of those cryptos that have a function or Bitcoin, which is digital gold, at least that's the theory, probably have much higher prices to go.

So I am looking for a handful of crypto investments for companies that are tied to it.

There's a couple out there that are interesting to me that for now I'm keeping to myself because I may accumulate them. And, honestly, I don't wanna generate even any more interested in them there than there is.

But there are arguments for certain cryptos and Bitcoin. All the speculative stuff, I mean, I think you're more likely to make money going to the casino and playing craps, but that's just me.

At least at the craps table, you get free drinks.

RS: Some upside.

KS: Hey. That's why I switched from blackjack to craps. I don't have to think as much. I just place my bet on the odds line, and I order my mudslide.

RS: There you go. Kirk, always a pleasure and also extremely edifying to talk to you. I appreciate where you take us and how deep we get to go with you. So thank you for this conversation.

Again, your investing group is called Margin of Safety Investing, and you also have some free articles on Seeking Alpha for investors to take advantage of.

The Fed instituted the first rate cut of the year and there are potentially more to come before 2025 turns into 2026. This puts fixed income investors on alert to ensure they properly position their portfolio for this shifting interest rate environment. This can cause a degree of market anxiety. But active bond ETFs can help with the changing bond market dynamic.

As short-term rates fall, this is beginning to manifest in a steeper yield curve. Fixed income investors who have been accustomed to the high yield environment of today will want to re-strategize their portfolios to account for both short-term and potential long-term changes.

“Cash and shorter-dated securities are subject to reinvestment risk—if yields fall, proceeds from those assets may not be able to be invested again at their original rate,” Morningstar noted. “On the other hand, longer-dated bonds could be subject to volatility, thanks to fluid fiscal and trade policy, an uncertain economic outlook, elevated inflation, and political pressure on the Fed.”

The Active Advantage
Rather than choosing individual bond issues, ETFs have been able to provide diversified exposure in the convenience of a cost-effective, transparent, and tax-efficient investment vehicle. Active ETFs also add a distinct advantage: flexibility in uncertain markets.

For the rest of 2025 and beyond, investors will want to avoid having to track the Fed’s every move. In a recent webinar, Thornburg’s Head of Fixed Income and Managing Director Christian Hoffmann joined TMX VettaFi’s Head of Research Todd Rosenbluth to discuss how active ETFs can adjust to the new macro environment of lower rates.

Furthermore, bond markets can be complex and nuanced. Portfolio managers who are privy to the bond market can adjust the holdings of an ETF to attain their market objectives. This helps to capture upside in a certain corner of the bond market or mitigate downside risk. If the fund is yield-focused, it can allow portfolio managers to seek opportunities to maximize income.

This higher degree of flexibility is not inherent in passive funds tethered to an index. Often times, these indexes make their allocations based on market value weight. That means only having exposure to the largest issuers. Again, active management puts allocations in the hands of portfolio managers who can adjust holdings as market conditions change.

2 Active Options
When considering active fixed income exposure, Thornburg has two options to consider. For core exposure, the Thornburg Core Plus Bond ETF (TPLS) is an ideal solution for added flexibility in various market conditions compared to passive funds tethered to an index.

As mentioned, rate cuts can affect fixed income portfolios that leverage one specific debt issue such as Treasuries. An active ETF that diversified income like the Thornburg Multi Sector Bond ETF (TMB) can assist. Its income diversification and active management makes it an all-weather fixed income solution to extract more income in a rate-cutting environment.

For more news, information, and strategy, visit the Portfolio Strategies Content Hub.

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Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO) M&A Call October 1, 2025 8:30 AM EDT

Company Participants

Tram Bui - Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Helen Torley - President, CEO & Director

Conference Call Participants

Morgan Gryga - Morgan Stanley, Research Division
Brendan Smith - TD Cowen, Research Division
Michael DiFiore - Evercore ISI Institutional Equities, Research Division
Corinne Jenkins - Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Research Division
Jessica Fye - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division
Jason Butler - Citizens JMP Securities, LLC, Research Division
Mohit Bansal - Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division
David Risinger - Leerink Partners LLC, Research Division

Presentation

Operator

Good morning. My name is Rob, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Halozyme Investor Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this event is being recorded. I will now turn the call over to Tram Bui, Halozyme's Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. Please go ahead.

Tram Bui
Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications

Thank you, operator. Good morning, and welcome to our investor conference call. In addition to the press release issued earlier this morning, you could find a supplementary slide presentation that will be referenced during today's call in the Investor Relations section of our website. Leading the call will be Dr. Helen Torley, Halozyme's President and Chief Executive Officer, who will provide an overview of the transaction. We're also pleased to have Chase Coffman, CEO and Co-Founder of Elektrofi, joining us today, together with Nicole LaBrosse, our CFO.

On today's call, we will be making forward-looking statements about future expectations, including relating to the proposed transaction with Elektrofi as outlined on Slide 2. I would also refer you to our SEC filings for a full list of risks and uncertainties.

I will now turn the call

Recommended For You

Ether on the verge of hitting price discovery after the United States government served a bi-folded bullish signal.

Published:
October 1, 2025 │ 4:10 PM GMT

Created by Gabor Kovacs from DailyCoin

Ether (ETH) regained the $4,300 price range on Wednesday, boosted by a hefty Spot market trading volume, exceeding $41,533,604,786 as of press time. This signifies a jumpstart to ‘Uptober’, a historically bullish season for both Bitcoin (BTC) & top-tier altcoins, but the bull run could be backed by more than just historical data.

Ethereum’s Foray To $10K Price Back In Play? 
With the United States Treasury easing taxes on unrealized Bitcoin (BTC) gains, the flagship crypto asset went ballistic to reclaim $116K, coming back to mid September’s price range. On top of that, the United States government temporarily shut down last night, putting crypto currencies in the role of a strong hedge against the weakened dollar.

$ETH IS WALKING THE LADDER TO FIVE DIGITS.

2018: $1,440
2021: $4,400 – $4,800
2025: $4,000 breakout

Every step builds the ladder higher.
Channel targets: $6,500, $8,000, $10,000.

Ignore the fear. Five-digit Ethereum is inevitable. pic.twitter.com/5yVOEzL01O

— Merlijn The Trader ✈️ Token2049 🇸🇬 (@MerlijnTrader) September 30, 2025

ETH, the largest altcoin, needs to keep above the $4.3K resistance level to have a swing at a new all-time high, as there’s still a 13% distance to cover. While the $5K target is everyone’s talking about, seasoned crypto analyst Merlijn forecasts Ethereum’s (ETH) price to climb up the ladder to $6.K, $8K & eventually, the ultimate $10K target.

Sponsored

“Ignore the fear. Five-digit Ethereum is inevitable.”, – declared the Dutch trader to his 395.5K followers on X, while attending this year’s Token2049 crypto summit in Singapore. With the $4K bullish retest deemed successful, the experienced crypto connoisseur projects the $10K breakout for around 2027, while $6.5K is plausible for mid 2026.

Dig into DailyCoin’s top crypto scoops:
Is Shiba Inu (SHIB) Joining ‘Uptober’ Festivities This Year?
Ripple CTO Dips Out, XRP Trading Hits $5B: Price To Pop?

People Also Ask:
Is Ethereum really heading to $10,000?

Veteran traders like Merlijn see ETH climbing the ladder to $10,000, with a recent $4,000 breakout in 2025 pointing to $6,500, $8,000, $10,000 and beyond in the coming years.

What’s driving this price climb?

New U.S. Ethereum ETFs (July 2025), a 3.5% staking yield, the Dencun upgrade (late 2025) cutting costs by 90%, and eased taxes on unrealized BTC gains are fueling the surge.

How did ETH get here from past prices?

ETH rose from $1,440 in 2018 to $4,800 in 2021, and now $4,000 in 2025—each step builds momentum, boosted by past cycles and bullish policies.

How do the U.S. shutdown & tax changes help ETH?

A looming U.S. government shutdown (77% chance by Dec 2025) and eased taxes on unrealized BTC gains make crypto a hedge against a weakening dollar, boosting ETH’s appeal.

Should I buy ETH to ride this ladder?

It’s tempting with $10K in sight, but crypto’s risky—research trends, monitor United States governmental shutdown news, and only invest what you can afford to lose!

This article is for information purposes only and should not be considered trading or investment advice. Nothing herein shall be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. Trading forex, cryptocurrencies, and CFDs pose a considerable risk of loss.

The SEC’s decision to approve generic listing standards for spot cryptocurrency ETFs may open the door for up to a dozen new crypto ETFs beyond Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) within the next 60–90 days, according to experts.

What Happened: ETF analyst David Nadig told CNBC on Monday that while these innovations improve trading flexibility and tax efficiency, they also add risk given the sheer volume of products.

With over 4,100 ETFs already on the market, analysts warn as many as 3,000 more ETFs could emerge in the coming years.

The SEC’s decision removes the slow case-by-case approval process, which could lead to quicker launches of altcoin ETFs beyond Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) and XRP (CRYPTO: XRP).

Also Read: Bitcoin Explodes To $117,000 As ETH, XRP Rally On First Day Of ‘Uptober’

Why It Matters: ETF products are diversifying beyond single-asset exposure.

New offerings include income-generating Bitcoin ETFs and crypto index ETFs, while Grayscale received approval to convert one of its mutual funds into an ETF.

CoinShares International Ltd on Wednesday announced the acquisition of Bastion Asset Management, a London-based crypto-focused alternative investment manager, as part of its bid to become a global leading asset manager specializing in digital assets.

Vanguard, long resistant to crypto, is reportedly preparing to offer crypto ETFs to clients, reversing earlier statements comparing Bitcoin to a "plague."

Data from SoSoValue shows U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs now hold $150.77 billion in net assets, accounting for 6.6% of BTC's total market cap.

Ethereum spot ETFs hold for $27.4 billion, accounting for 5.4% of all ETH.

Read Next:

Michael Saylor Calls Bitcoin ‘Digital Energy’ That Will Transform Finance
Image: Shutterstock

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© 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Bitcoin and ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) extended their recovery, bringing in $430 million and $127 million, respectively. Blackrock's IBIT led bitcoin inflows, while Blackrock's ETHA carried ether to another positive day. Institutional Demand Holds Strong as Bitcoin and Ether ETFs See Back-to-Back Gains Momentum is building in crypto ETFs.

Pi Network price remained on edge on Oct. 1 even as the developers unveiled new features on its testnet.

Summary

Pi Network price is at risk after the developers unveiled a new upgrade.
The upgrade will introduce a new decentralized exchange and automated market maker tools.
It has formed a bearish flag pattern pointing to more downside. 

Pi Coin (PI) was trading at $0.2735, inside a narrow range it has been in for the past few days. This price is about 90% below its all-time high, meaning that investors have lost more than $18 billion.

The Pi Network developers have launched several notable upgrades in the past few weeks. Its most recent upgrade was in line with Stellar’s move to Protocol 23, also known as Whisk. The upgrade introduced new features to the network, such as parallel processing and execution, unified event emissions, and live state prioritization.

In a statement on Wednesday, the team said that it launched a new decentralized exchange and automated market maker functionality on the testnet.

Decentralized exchange (DEX) and automated market maker (AMM) functionalities are available on the Testnet, allowing developers and Pioneers to experiment directly with token swaps, liquidity pools, and other decentralized finance tools. Developers can also now create test tokens… pic.twitter.com/Vf3wsNru2C

— Pi Network (@PiCoreTeam) October 1, 2025

The new upgrade will enable developers and pioneers to experiment directly with token swaps, liquidity pools, and other decentralized finance tools. Additionally, developers are able to create test tokens on the Pi Testnet blockchain.

The new development is part of the developers’ goal of becoming a major player in the crypto industry. Precisely, one goal is to allow developers to extend the network’s capabilities in the Web3 industry.

Pi Network price was muted after the upgrade because the ongoing developments have not solved the core challenges. One of the main challenges is that Pi is highly inflationary because of its substantial token unlocks. It will unlock 139 million tokens this month, a process that will go on for years. 

Pi is also highly centralized, with the obscure Pi Foundation controlling billions of tokens. This centralization likely explains why most exchanges have snubbed the token.

Pi Network price technical analysis
Pi Coin price chart | Source: crypto.news
The four-hour chart shows that the Pi Coin price has crashed in the past few months. It recently dropped below the important support at $0.3300, the lowest swing on Aug. 25.

The token has moved below the 50-period and 25-period Exponential Moving Averages. It has also formed a bearish flag pattern, which is a common risky pattern.

Therefore, there is a risk that the coin will experience a bearish breakout, potentially to the psychological level at $0.20, which is about 25% below the current level. A move above the resistance point at $0.3300 will invalidate the bearish outlook.

David Schwartz is leaving his day-to-day CTO role at Ripple but will stay involved on the board and with XRPL projects. His exit comes as Ripple contends with new competition from SWIFT, which teamed up with Ripple’s rival to launch a blockchain ledger for cross-border payments.

Summary

David Schwartz, Ripple’s longtime CTO, will step back from daily duties and join the board while remaining active in the XRPL community.
His work helped shape the XRP Ledger’s design, including a native DEX.
The departure comes as Ripple faces growing competition from SWIFT, which recently partnered with Consensys to build a blockchain-based ledger for cross-border payments.

David Schwartz, one of the engineers who helped build the XRP Ledger, said Tuesday, Sept. 30, in an X post that he will step back from day-to-day duties as Ripple’s chief technology officer at the end of the year and take an emeritus role on the company’s board.

“The time has come for me to step back from my day-to-day duties as Ripple CTO at the end of this year. I’m really looking forward to spending more time with the kids and grandkids and going back to the hobbies I set aside.”

David Schwartz

Schwartz’s exit from the operational hot seat is not a clean break, as he pointed out that he plans to stay active in the XRPL community, run independent experiments, and keep coding. As the Ripple CTO explains, the last few months he’s been “tinkering on the side – spinning up my own XRPL node and publishing its output data, researching other use cases for XRP (besides what Ripple is focused on), and more.”

Now, Schwartz will step back from daily CTO duties and join the board, while Dennis Jarosch, senior VP of engineering, takes over day-to-day operations.

“I’m not taking our weekly check-ins off the calendar though… and am glad you won’t be far as you join the Ripple board, continuing to impart your deep crypto wisdom and guidance on what we’re building. Wait…does this mean you’re my boss now!?!”

Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple CEO

The shift caps more than a decade in which Schwartz helped translate cryptography and secure-systems engineering into a live payments ledger. Schwartz’s career in technology stretches back decades.

In 1988, he founded David Schwartz Enterprises, where he invented a hierarchical system for distributing workloads across multiple computers, handled interactions with the USPTO to obtain United States patent 5,025,369, and managed marketing as well as licensing efforts, according to BitcoinWiki.

In early 1998, Schwartz joined WebMaster Incorporated, a Santa Clara software firm, where he worked for 13 years. Starting as director of software development, he designed and managed the reimplementation of the ConferenceRoom chat server and related products. While at WebMaster, he also worked on projects for high-security clients such as CNN and the U.S. National Security Agency, which helped shape how he approaches ledger design and validator rules.

The Ripple era
In 2011, Schwartz joined Ripple as chief cryptographer and became CTO seven years later, in 2018. Technically, Schwartz’s fingerprints are now on features that set the XRP Ledger apart, including transaction costs, confirmation times, and a built-in decentralized exchange, though even Ripple itself has avoided using that DEX for enterprise payment flows because of compliance concerns about unverified liquidity providers, Schwartz acknowledged in an X post.

Those design choices have been central to Ripple’s pitch to banks and payment firms and to ongoing debates about how much of XRPL should be run by corporate engineering versus the broader validator community.

But Schwartz’s departure comes at a critical time for Ripple. The company has been positioning itself as a solution for banks, but recently, SWIFT announced a partnership with Consensys, the developer of Linea and a key backer of Ethereum, to build a conceptual prototype of the ledger, which will leverage SWIFT’s “unmatched resiliency, security and scalability to facilitate transactions using any form of regulated tokenised value.”

As crypto.news reported earlier, the initiative involves more than 30 global financial institutions, including Bank of America, Citigroup, NatWest, Santander, BBVA, BNP Paribas, and HSBC. The shared ledger aims to facilitate transactions in tokenized products, including stablecoins, and will leverage blockchain’s capabilities such as smart contracts, transaction validation, and sequencing.

The following article is adapted from The Block's newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

MrBeast Adds 244,179 ASTER, Lifting Total To 949,999 TokensAmerican YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast) purchased an additional 244,179 ASTER on October 1, 2025, for about $386,000, marking his third sizable buy in 10 days according to on‑chain tracking. In total, the wallet attributed to him now holds 949,999 ASTER, with the position valued at roughly $1.53 million at the time of reporting.

On September 21, a first recorded deposit of $114,483 was made into Aster. Over the following three days, another $1 million in USDT was added, after which 538,384 ASTER were withdrawn at an average price near $1.87. On September 29, a new transaction acquired 167,436 ASTER for $320,587. On October 1, a further 244,179 ASTER were purchased for about $386,000, bringing the total to 949,999 tokens.

As context, in October 2024, Kasper Vandeloock, CEO of Musca Capital Trader, accused MrBeast of a $23 million cryptocurrency scheme, alleging insider trading, misleading investors, and using influence to promote tokens. These remain allegations attributed to Vandeloock and associated researchers.

Famous Buyers And Rising Influencer InterestRecent cycles have seen renewed celebrity and athlete interest in crypto, adding visibility and momentum beyond trading desks. NFL star Odell Beckham Jr., who converted his salary to Bitcoin in 2021, would be sitting on gains north of $1.2 million if held through August 2025, illustrating the long‑game appeal for athletes exploring BTC compensation and endorsements.

Broader celebrity adoption narratives remain active as well, with recurring lists and features tracking holdings and endorsements across entertainment and sports, and renewed focus on Ethereum among creators and musicians exploring NFTs and royalty models.

Industry roundups continue to profile public figures, ranging from artists to entrepreneurs, whose portfolios and deals keep crypto in the mainstream conversation, shaping sentiment and discovery for retail audiences.

Shiba Inu is once again testing a crucial price point that has repeatedly shaped its market trajectory this year. The token is nearing a major support level that has historically triggered strong rebounds whenever tested. 

Coinvo, a Market analyst, believes that the coming days will determine whether Shiba Inu continues its upward momentum or faces deeper corrections. Recent data also points to easing sell-off concerns, as exchange reserves of SHIB tokens hit a two-year low.

Analysts Point to $0.00001150 as Key SupportRenowned crypto analyst Coinvo recently highlighted that Shiba Inu is approaching a decisive level. While describing the move as a “major resistance test,” Coinvo’s chart actually emphasized $0.00001150 as the most critical support zone for 2025.

The data shows that this level has repeatedly halted sell-offs and spurred recoveries. In March, SHIB tested the zone before rebounding to around $0.000014. A similar trend unfolded in April when the token climbed back toward $0.00001550.

More recently, in late June, Shiba Inu once again fell to the same level during heightened volatility sparked by the armed conflict between Israel and Iran. Despite the geopolitical pressure, buyers stepped in, driving SHIB back toward $0.00001570 in July.

Source: X

With the token once again hovering near this level, analysts argue that a strong bounce could reignite bullish momentum. However, if $0.00001150 fails to hold, Shiba Inu could face accelerated sell-offs, opening the door to deeper declines.

Declining Reserves Ease Selling PressureThe bearish outlook has been tempered by a sharp drop in SHIB’s exchange reserves. According to market data, reserves recently fell to 84.49 trillion tokens, marking a two-year low. At the time of writing, the figure had dipped further to 84.34 trillion SHIB.

This decline signals reduced selling pressure, as fewer tokens remain available for trading on exchanges. Analysts suggest that this factor could support Shiba Inu’s ability to maintain its critical support level, reducing the likelihood of a steep breakdown.

Meanwhile, community commentator Shib Spain speculated that the long-awaited altcoin season could begin this month. He pointed to October’s historical performance as a potential indicator. Data shows that Shiba Inu posted gains of 833% in 2021, followed by 10.4% in 2022, 6.04% in 2023, and 2.46% in 2024.

As October 2025 begins, the token has already risen 0.56% within the first hours of the month. Whether this modest start turns into a broader rally will depend heavily on SHIB’s interaction with its support zone.

After a ~$1B BTC transfer associated with Bitfinex, Tether holdings are estimated around 109,410 while markets evaluate how Bitcoin exposure affects reserve quality, liquidity under stress, USDT stability, and regulatory scrutiny across jurisdictions.

Crypto pundit Mikybull Crypto has revealed that XRP has flipped green for the first time since 2017. Based on this, he predicted that the altcoin could record a rally of up to 500%, reaching $15 in the process. 

XRP Eyes Rally To $15 As Price Flips Green
In an X post, Mikybull Crypto predicted that XRP could rally to between $5 and $15. This came as the analyst noted that the altcoin has flipped green on the quarterly chart for the first time since 2017. He suggested that the rally of up to 500% may already be underway, noting that XRP has already broken above the resistance, just as it did in 2017. 

Source: Chart from Milkybull Crypto on X
In a follow-up X post, Mikybull Crypto doubled down on his bullish sentiment towards XRP, stating that the altcoin’s big move is incoming as it is heading for a mega breakout. His accompanying chart indicated that the key was for XRP to successfully flip the $2.90 level again into support and decisively break above the psychological $3 level. 

Related Reading: XRP Price Is About To Close A 3M Candle Above This Major Region, Here’s What It Means For Price

Meanwhile, crypto analyst Egrag Crypto has made a more bullish forecast for XRP, predicting that it could rally to as high as $33. Like Mikybull Crypto, the analyst also alluded to the 2017 bull cycle as the reason why XRP could witness a parabolic surge to this ambitious price target. However, although he is bullish on XRP in the long term, Egrag Crypto stated that he believes there might be one more flush out before the altcoin rallies to new highs. 

The crypto analyst further remarked that there is about a 70% chance for a flush before the XRP uptrend continues, which he noted is healthier from a structural point of view. He added that there is a 30% chance of an immediate pump but warned that it will eventually lead to a sharp correction. Egrag Crypto expects XRP to drop to at least $2.65, with the possibility of a further decline to the fair value gap between $2.35 and $2.40. 

Bearish Divergences Hint At Further Drop Before The Breakout
Crypto analyst CasiTrades stated that XRP’s bearish divergences hint at lower support levels before a potential breakout to the upside. She noted that the downside tests remain valid, with $2.79 and $2.58 as the key support levels to watch out for as the altcoin remains below $3. The analyst added that a test of $2.58 could still support a much larger bullish move to new highs. 

However, CasiTrades warned that a break below $2.58 would invalidate the bullish market structure and threaten the macro outlook. Meanwhile, she told market participants that when XRP is truly ready to begin wave 3, the macro resistance levels at $2.79, $3, and $3.25 should break cleanly and without hesitation. If XRP continues to hesitate, she believes that further downside testing may be necessary first.

At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $2.8, down in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

XRP trading at $2.9 on the 1D chart | Source: XRPUSDT on Tradingview.com
Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com

20h05 ▪
5
min read ▪ by
Mikaia A.

Summarize this article with:

The euphoria around Ethereum had regained momentum: the $4,200 mark was crossed, quickly followed by an attempt towards $4,300. Facing this rebound, the crypto market was again shaken by fierce volatility. Yet, behind the turmoil, a strong trend emerges: institutional investors are flocking to spot ETFs, rekindling interest in ETH and reviving hope for a lasting recovery.

In brief

547 million dollars injected into Ethereum ETFs in a single day of active trading.
BitMine Immersion holds $10.6 billion in ETH aiming for 5% of the supply.
ETH nears $4,350, a critical threshold that could liquidate $1 billion of short positions.
On-chain activity falls by 16%, while spot purchases remain strategically high.

The institutional awakening: $547M in spot ETFs for Ethereum
On Monday, the crypto market was marked by a flood of capital: $547 million poured into spot ETH products, overturning several days of successive withdrawals. This surge confirms that professionalization is taking root in the Ether universe. Among the players, BitMine Immersion added 234,800 ETH to its reserves, now holding $10.6 billion in assets, a serious bet on a future share of the total supply.

This movement is accompanied by a structural sentiment: companies are reviewing their treasury strategies, some analytical funds anticipating that this institutional shift could bring Ethereum closer to $4,800 or more, if momentum confirms. Moreover, the nature of these flows suggests a preference for spot accumulation, less risky than leveraged speculation.

$4,275 – $4,350: a technical and psychological ceiling
Ethereum sings, but hits a wall. The levels of $4,275 to $4,350 currently act as a barrier: crossing these thresholds could trigger the liquidation of about $1 billion in short positions, according to CoinGlass data. Conversely, if ETH fails again, the pressure could bring the price back to support zones like $4,100.

The technical setup reveals a downward trendline inherited from September peaks, which Ethereum struggles to break. At the same time, market sentiment shows a certain duality: spot ETF flows reflect institutional capital confidence, but caution still dominates derivative markets, with futures showing more measured accumulation.

The SWIFT–Consensys connection acts as a moral lever: although no direct transfer strengthens ETH, it legitimizes the idea of a bridge between traditional finance and crypto. If even a fraction of SWIFT’s 53 million daily messages passed through Ethereum infrastructure, the symbolic impact would be colossal. Such a prospect, combined with the paradox of decreased on-chain activity (–12% fees, –16% transactions over 30 days), makes the challenge fascinating: reclaim resistance while rebuilding support.

When networks and accumulation coexist between paradoxes and signals
The Ethereum visible in its figures hides a paradox: crypto investors flock to ETFs, while momentum on the chains wanes. The network shows –12% fees and –16% transactions in one month, contrasting with the strength of spot ETH accumulated outside exchanges. The crypto market faces a double narrative: strategic accumulation against usage weakening.

To frame this contrast, here are 5 key figures to remember:

$547 million in net inflows into Ethereum spot ETFs in one day;
$10.6 billion held by BitMine Immersion in ETH;
$1 billion of risky short positions if the ETH price exceeds $4,350;
–12% Ethereum fees over 30 days (economic erosion);
–16% transactions on the network over the same period.

Several signals indicate that the crypto market is entering a new phase. Institutional crypto investors gradually replace impulsive speculators. The narrative is no longer just about a token, but about a financial infrastructure in transition. The act of buying a dip transforms into a bet on Ethereum’s technological and macroeconomic future.

The end of this test period will not go unnoticed by seasoned observers. And while Bitcoin and Ethereum face pressure, Eric Trump himself took center stage, urging the crypto market to buy the dips. Experts have a keen eye; the vulture watches the pullbacks in this volatile dance.

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Mikaia A.

La révolution blockchain et crypto est en marche ! Et le jour où les impacts se feront ressentir sur l’économie la plus vulnérable de ce Monde, contre toute espérance, je dirai que j’y étais pour quelque chose

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.