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.”
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
'C'mon C'mon'
Director:Mike Mills
Stars:Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, Woody Norman
Rating: 4/5
THE%20SPECS
%3Cp%3EBattery%3A%2060kW%20lithium-ion%20phosphate%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20Up%20to%20201bhp%3Cbr%3E0%20to%20100kph%3A%207.3%20seconds%3Cbr%3ERange%3A%20418km%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh149%2C900%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
'Skin'
Dir: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature
By Marion Rankine
Melville House
