Retail traders, responsible for the wild price swings in everything from GameStop to Revlon, have returned to another old favourite: beaten-down cryptocurrency stocks.
Over the past 10 days, they have scooped up nearly $1 billion worth of shares of cryptocurrency-exposed companies, according to a report published on Wednesday by VandaTrack. That rapid burst of buying has led to stocks including Marathon Digital Holdings, Coinbase Global and Riot Blockchain showing up among the most bought assets on Fidelity’s platform this week.
“Retail traders are definitely surfacing here,” said Ed Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda. “Everyone expected one last major plunge for Bitcoin and now prices are recovering and risk appetite on Wall Street is somewhat improving.”
With the resurgence, the NYSE FactSet Global Blockchain Technologies Index is now on track for its largest monthly gain since February 2021.
Among its biggest gainers this month, Marathon Digital has jumped 133 per cent, while Riot Blockchain, Silvergate Capital and Coinbase have all climbed by at least 50 per cent. These stocks are still down more than 40 per cent this year.
The Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index, which tracks the performance of the largest digital assets including Bitcoin, has climbed roughly 35 per cent over that stretch.
And half of the 20 best-performing US ETFs since the end of June are cryptocurrency-related. However, Bitcoin is still down about 51 per cent this year.
Despite July’s rebound, cryptocurrency-related companies have been among the worst-performing stocks this year as investors fled risky assets fearing that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive policy-tightening regime could tip the economy into a recession.
The collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin and subsequent folding of firms including Celsius Network and Three Arrows Capital only exacerbated these losses in recent months.
Mining stocks have taken a particularly hard beating as Bitcoin prices tumbled from a record high of almost $69,000 in November to a two-and-a-half year low of less than $18,000 last month. Bitcoin’s plunge has spurred several analysts to declare a so-called “crypto winter” as roughly $2 trillion in market value was erased from the digital-token space.
Even one of the biggest influencers in the cryptocurrency space has seemingly started to get cold feet. On Wednesday, Elon Musk’s Tesla revealed that it had sold off a majority of its Bitcoin holdings during the second quarter, saying the move was made to provide the electric-vehicle maker additional liquidity.
But that has not deterred some traders. With Bitcoin on track for its first monthly gain since March, the retail crowd has shown up en masse, flocking particularly to mining stocks.
The $7.4 million Viridi Bitcoin Miners ETF has jumped roughly 33 per cent this month, making it one of the top-performing US-listed exchange-traded funds in July. Stronghold Digital Mining, which is held by the ETF, surged more than 79 per cent over the same period and is on track for its best month on record.
Trading volume for the miner soared to upwards of 100 million shares on Wednesday, more than 70 per cent of its total trading volume since it went public last year, a sign of retail-investor interest.
“Whenever any stock or group breaks out of a multimonth range to the upside, the rally usually lasts several weeks,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. “It won’t happen in a straight line, so they could take a breather at any time, but the line of least resistance is now up.”
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
'The Sky is Everywhere'
Director:Josephine Decker
Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
Rating:2/5
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Company%20profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULTS
Cagliari 5-2 Fiorentina
Udinese 0-0 SPAL
Sampdoria 0-0 Atalanta
Lazio 4-2 Lecce
Parma 2-0 Roma
Juventus 1-0 AC Milan
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
RESULTS
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner: Najem Al Rwasi, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)
2.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Fandim, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri
3pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Harbh, Pat Cosgrave, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
3.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Wakeel W’Rsan, Richard Mullen, Jaci Wickham
4pm: Crown Prince of Sharjah Cup Prestige (PA) Dh200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Jawaal, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri
4.30pm: Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup (TB) Dh200,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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Sunday:
GP3 race: 12:10pm
Formula 2 race: 1:35pm
Formula 1 race: 5:10pm
Performance: Guns N' Roses
What is Diwali?
The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.
According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.
In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
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