Ripple bets strong on U.S Economy

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Olumide Adesina

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, says that regardless of the outcome of the US election, the crypto industry will undergo a reset. Garlinghouse called the current Biden administration “hostile” to the cryptocurrency industry in his remarks at the 8th Annual Washington DC Fintech Week.

He said a “reset” is expected regardless of whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris is elected president. The CEO of Ripple voiced optimism about better crypto regulations after the US election. Garlinghouse foresaw a “reset” in the cryptocurrency industry regardless of the election outcome. The CEO emphasized that the two presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, have different views on the crypto industry. Although Harris is a native of Silicon Valley and generally pro-technological, Garlinghouse asserts that Trump has actively supported the cryptocurrency industry.

Garlinghouse disclosed at the same event that Citibank had canceled their banking arrangement with him because of his involvement in the cryptocurrency sector. He clarified that he had been a Citibank customer for 25 years, but they had only given him five days to transfer his money. Garlinghouse linked the larger problem of “de-banking” in the United States to his own experience. S. . the cryptocurrency sector. He said, “People in the cryptocurrency sector are being de-banked; I was de-banked myself, and they gave me five days to transfer my funds.”.

The XRP ETF’s approval may cause the cryptocurrency market to soar, and Bitwise’s updated Ripple ETF filing bolsters investor confidence. Experts predict that this decision will affect the price of XRP and the cryptocurrency market overall.

Despite the complexity of the ongoing Ripple v. SEC litigation, Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, voiced confidence. Attorney Fred Rispoli recently reprimanded Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, the chairman of Ripple, for their partial settlement with the SEC. They were denied the opportunity to ask for the full withdrawal of all charges.

Criminals allegedly stole $20 million from US government crypto wallets

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Olumide Adesina

Experts in on-chain analysis warned the public about strange on-chain transactions, raising concerns that US government crypto wallets may have been compromised.

Arkham claims that anonymous hackers may have stolen $20 million worth of seized cryptocurrency, including USDT, USD coin, and Ethereum, from crypto wallets owned by the U.S. government
After breaking into U.S. government wallets, the hackers started selling and laundering the money, according to transactions, Arkham said in a statement about the suspicious activities on October 24.
“The funds are currently being traded to ETH after being moved to wallet 0x348. We believe the attacker has already begun to launder the profits using suspicious addresses linked to a money laundering firm.
Arkham observed that the FG removed over $6.5 million in cryptocurrencies from the decentralized Aave precinct long before the blockchain analytics service drew attention to the transactions on the US government wallet. Furthermore, as per the data by Etherscan, one entity/ US government wallet managed to transfer as much as $100,000 worth of cryptocurrency but had to settle up to $1000 in Ethereum fees for the transaction.

ZachXBT, an on-chain detective on Telegram, has confirmed the emerging story, which may even involve money seized from the Bitfinex hackers. According to Arkham, at least one wallet listed in the Bitfinex court case documents contained seized assets sent to wallet 0xc9E”.

The blockchain intelligence firm TRM reports that in the first half of this year, the amount of cryptocurrency stolen through hacks and network exploits more than doubled to US$1.38 billion. Seventy percent of all crypto stolen was the result of five major attacks. Most of last year’s and prior years’ thefts were caused by a few attacks.

But this year’s looted cryptocurrency was lower than the nearly $2 billion stolen in the first half of 2022, the year with the highest number of crypto thefts.

The second half of 2021 saw cryptocurrency prices soar to all-time highs, just like this year. According to TRM, higher prices might likely lead to more instances of cryptocurrency theft. The most common ways that hackers stole cryptocurrency were by illegally obtaining seed codes and private keys, which are the cryptographic strings of numbers that grant access to a cryptocurrency wallet.

Tesla posts highest daily gain since May 9, 2013

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Olumide Adesina

Tesla ended the fourth trading session of the week up by 22% to settle at $260.48 per share, such huge gains reversed Tesla’s 2024 losses and raised its market value by around $150 billion.

According to Dow Jones Market Data, it was the largest one-day percentage increase since May 9, 2013, when Tesla stock rose 24.4% and the best one-day market value increase for the shares ever. Tesla’s earnings per share climbed from 66 cents in the third quarter of 2023 to 72 cents.

The electric car maker also posted upsides in operating and automotive gross profit margins. Its other subsidiaries like energy storage, established records for profit margins.

According to the company, Tesla anticipates a 20% to 30% increase in vehicle deliveries in the upcoming year, “in contrast to Street numbers in the 10%-12% heading into the print.

There wasn’t much for Wall Street to gripe about. Analysts gave the margin performance and management’s cost-controlling efforts high marks. While the average target price for the company among analysts tracked by FactSet increased somewhat from $216 per share to $220, there was one upgrade from Hold to Buy.

Investors were encouraged by Tesla’s growth projection and the third-quarter results. Compared to 2023, the business still anticipates a rise in car deliveries, indicating a record of over 515,000 deliveries in the fourth quarter, up roughly 6% from the previous year. Musk claimed that a 20% to 30% growth was feasible for 2025, although Wall Street projected 10%.

Analysts from Bank of America identified several possible things to watch in 2025. Securities by BofA. “Tesla Motors 3Q beat as Next Gen Core-to-Future takes shape – quick take.”

Tesla’s management forecasted offering paid public transportation next year, and the business has also stated that it intends to introduce a public ride-hailing service in Texas and California.

According to the bank, Tesla’s management anticipates being able to offer paid public transportation next year, and the business has also stated that it intends to introduce a public ride-hailing service in Texas and California. “The bottom line was that Tesla is charging up for the next wave of growth.” the bank said.

Warren Buffett: “I don’t endorse any political candidate or investment product”

Posted on October 24, 2024 by Olumide Adesina

Warren Buffett is concerned about an increase in impersonators who want to profit from his brand by posing as him and endorsing a political candidate or investment product on social media.

Berkshire Hathaway took the unusual step of placing a statement about the issue on its website’s home page.

The statement says: “With the rise in social media use, there have been many false allegations that Mr. Buffett supports and endorses political candidates in addition to investment goods. Mr. Buffett does not now sponsor political candidates or endorse investment products, and he never will.”

Additionally, there is a wider worry about so-called deepfakes, which utilize artificial intelligence to pose as well-known individuals for profit or other purposes. As technology advances, the images or videos get more and more realistic. Given that Buffett notably avoids bitcoin and often advises ordinary investors to purchase inexpensive index funds, anyone familiar with the investment legend’s opinions would be skeptical of any endorsement by him of a cryptocurrency or investing product

“We put that on the Berkshire website because I’m concerned about people impersonating me,” the company’s chairman and CEO explained to CNBC’sKamala Harris. If someone tells you how to vote or invest, you shouldn’t believe them.

Buffett’s remarks coincide with a contentious political season in which prominent figures from Silicon Valley and Wall Street, including Elon Musk, Bill Ackman, and Mark Cuban, are divided over the impasse between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Bill Gates is privately endorsing Harris by giving $50 million to a group that supports her campaign

Tesla stock on a rampage, Elon Musk’s predicts strong vehicle growth

Posted on October 24, 2024 by Olumide Adesina

Tesla’s third-quarter profits on Wednesday were impressive, despite revenue coming in slightly shy of expectations. The stock price increased by 12% during extended trading. The stock was down 18% in October before yesterday’s rally, headed for its worst month since January. Over the year, the Nasdaq gained 22%, while the shares plummeted 14%.

An LSEG survey of analysts found the following differences between Wall Street’s expectations and the company’s report: Revenue was $25.18 billion instead of the expected $25.37 billion.
Revenue climbed 8% to $23.35 billion from $1.85 billion, or 53 cents per share, in the same period last year. Net income increased to almost $2.17 billion, or 62 cents per share.

During the quarter, $739 million in automobile regulatory credit revenue helped to boost profit margins.

Automotive revenue increased 2% to $20 billion from $19.63 billion in the same month the previous year, and it has been comparatively steady since late 2022. Energy generation and storage revenue jumped 52% to $2.38 billion, while services and other revenue from non-warranty repairs of Tesla vehicles—rose 29% to $2.79 billion.

Elon Musk, the CEO, stated on the earnings call that he believes the “advent of autonomy” and “lower cost vehicles” will cause “vehicle growth” to reach 20% to 30% in the upcoming year. According to a FactSet survey of analysts, deliveries were predicted to rise by around 15% to 2.04 million next year.

Musk stated that all of Tesla’s vehicles going forward would be autonomous when asked on the call if the business would produce a less expensive EV that isn’t a Cybercab. According to him, the “vast majority” of the 7 million cars that Tesla has made so far are “capable of autonomy,” and the business is “currently making on the order of 35,000 autonomous vehicles a week.”

Tesla still does not manufacture or market safe vehicles without a human driver constantly present to steer or brake. Musk said that the company would eventually produce two million Cybercabs annually and begin delivering driverless ride-hailing cars in Texas and perhaps California as early as 2025.

According to him, certain Californian employees have been able to utilize a ride-hailing app that Tesla built this year. Even though the previous president opposes federal expenditure on EVs, charging infrastructure, and environmental laws that have helped Tesla for years, Musk has spent tens of millions to help Trump return to the White House.

U.S stock markets hit a record high

Posted on October 19, 2024 by Olumide Adesina

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 shot to all-time highs on Friday, capping six weeks of advances.

The major benchmark for blue chip stocks closed at 5,864.67, up 0.40%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day at 43,275.91, up 36.86 points, or 0.09%. The Nasdaq Composite ended the day up 0.63% at 18,489.55, driven by a post-earnings spike in Netflix.

The three major averages secured their sixth consecutive week of gains. The longest run of weekly gains this year.

Netflix’s stock price surged 11% on Friday after the streaming giant revealed a 35% rise in ad-tier memberships over the preceding three months, above Wall Street’s third-quarter earnings and sales forecasts. Furthermore, despite lower-than-expected revenue, Procter & Gamble also reported higher-than-expected profits.

Nearly 70 S&P 500 companies have reported their profits this season. 75% of those have surpassed expectations, according to FactSet.

Stocks may continue to rise through November despite an anticipated uptick in market volatility in the run-up to the election. Market analysts also credited this outperformance to investors who had already factored in a victory for Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump, whose tax and regulatory policies would be more favorable to businesses.

Next week, investors will anticipate the results of over 80 S&P 500 firms, including Tesla, UPS, Texas Instruments, and Coca-Cola, as earnings season takes shape. Investors will watch for the publication of September’s US leading economic indicators index, existing home sales data, and consumer sentiment data

Netflix subscribers base hit 282.7 million

Posted on October 19, 2024 by Olumide Adesina

Netflix’s stock closed up 11% on Friday after the media streaming giant reported third-quarter profits and sales that surpassed projections. The streaming platform posted an earnings per share of $5.40 for the three-month period ended September 30, which was higher than the $5.12 LSEG average estimate.

Furthermore, revenue of $9.83 billion instead of $9.77 billion surpassed experts’ forecasts.

Netflix now has 282.7 million users overall and 5.1 million new members. Ad-supported memberships increased by 35% per quarter. Although management does not anticipate advertising becoming a major revenue driver until 2026, it does plan to expand the service to Canada this quarter, with a more extensive expansion scheduled for 2025.

Crucially, Netflix’s ad-supported subscription tier increased by 35% every quarter. Although it does not expect ads to become its primary source of growth until 2026, Netflix reported that more than 50% of sign-ups in the third quarter in the countries where it is available were from the ad tier.

Additionally, Netflix provided a positive forecast for the December quarter, predicting a 14.7% increase in fourth-quarter revenue to $10.13 billion. From its projected revenue of $38.9 billion in 2024, it is projecting revenue of $43 billion to $44 billion in 2025, or an 11% to 13% increase.

According to Netflix, its subscribers use the service for at least two hours daily. More than 50% of signups are on the ad-supported service, which has increased by 35% per quarter.

U.S more interested in Bitcoin than Stablecoin

Posted on October 17, 2024October 17, 2024 by Olumide Adesina

The US has seen record levels of Bitcoin activity since spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were introduced. However, according to a Chainalysis report released on October 17, stablecoin usage in the US has slowed in 2024 compared to global markets.

Stablecoin activity on US marketplaces has significantly decreased this year; in 2024, less than 40% of stablecoin transactions on US-regulated exchanges, compared to nearly 50% in 2023.

In contrast, the percentage of stablecoin transactions on platforms not governed by US law has grown since 2023 and surpassed 60% in 2024, per Chainalysis’ most current examination of cryptocurrency adoption trends in North America.

Chainalysis underlined that the change does not necessarily signify a steep drop in US stablecoin activity but rather the fast-growing significance of stablecoins in non-US countries and emerging markets.

The increasing popularity of stablecoins outside the US reflects a larger trend: stablecoins backed by the US dollar are becoming very popular in international markets as a store of value and less expensive adopting stablecoins is the regulatory ambiguity surrounding them and digital assets.

According to Chainalysis, Circle, a top stablecoin firm has seen that financial centers in Europe and the United Arab Emirates have been able to draw stablecoin projects with more hospitable legal frameworks because of the US’s unclear crypto laws.

A Circle representative cautioned that “the lack of a US regulatory framework for dollar-referenced stablecoins represents a threat to American interests.”
US politicians are facing mounting pressure to take action as more nations create regulatory frameworks that promote the adoption of stablecoins.

Jeff Bezos displaces Mark Zuckerberg as world’s second richest man

Posted on October 15, 2024 by Olumide Adesina

Jeff Bezos is now the second richest man in the world overtaking Mark Zuckerberg. The Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index indicates that Musk is valued at $2410 billion, Bezos at $210 billion, and Zuckerberg at $209 billion As of October 15.

This places the co-founder of Facebook ahead of other notable industry figures, such as former Microsoft CEOs Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates, and co-founder of Oracle Larry Ellison, who is also vying for a membership in the club.

Jeff Bezos established the online retailer Amazon.com In 1994, . In addition, he owns The Washington Post and Blue Origin. In addition to running the Whole Foods supermarket chain, the Seattle-based business offers cloud computing and streaming services. In 2023, Amazon had revenue of $574.8 billion, up from $514 billion in 2022.
Amazon began as an online bookshop, claiming to have the largest ebook collection in the world at the time—a collection as large as the river after which it was named—and then increased its focus on books to establish itself as a major participant in the rapidly expanding e-commerce industry.

There are only 2,781 billionaires globally out of the approximate 8 billion people. Of them, just three are members of the elite $200 billion club: Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and the richest person on the planet; Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon; and Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta

Amazon’s shares increased slightly in early Tuesday trading after a well-known Wall Street analyst published an upbeat assessment of the firm before its quarterly results report.

Next week, some mega-cap tech companies, including Amazon (AMZN), one of the top performers among the so-called Magnificent 7, will release their third-quarter earnings. This year, the company’s market worth increased by almost $400 billion, strengthening its position as a leading division and increasing the profit margins of its e-commerce sector.

“We believe that Amazon will continue to engage in important growth projects and provide a robust combination of long-term revenue growth and operating margin expansion.” Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan reiterated his ‘buy’ bias.

“We remain convinced that investments to offer lower price points and expanded selection, including essentials, are sound long-term strategic decisions.”
According to Wall Street estimates, Amazon will report $157.2 billion in total revenue for the three months that ended in September. This represents a 9.8% increase over the same period the previous year, with Web Services sales increasing by about 19.2%.

Nvidia hits a record high, market valuation tops $3.4 trillion

Posted on October 15, 2024 by Olumide Adesina

Nvidia’s stock closed at a record on Monday as Wall Street prepare for earnings season and updates from the chipmaker’s largest customers on their expected investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Nvidia is the second most valuable publicly traded company, with a market valuation of $3.4 trillion, behind Apple worth $3.55 trillion.

The stock ended the day at $138.07, up 2.4% from its June 18 peak of $135.58. Since the beginning of 2023, the shares have risen more than nine times, and up almost 180% for the year.

Nvidia, often regarded as the company providing the picks and shovels for the AI gold rush, has benefited the most from the generative AI boom, which started with the public release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022. Nvidia’s graphics processing units, or GPUs, create and implement complex AI models that enable ChatGPT and related apps.

Companies like Microsoft, Meta, Google, and Amazon are purchasing Nvidia GPUs in masse to build ever-larger computer clusters for their state-of-the-art AI research. All of those companies are anticipated to publish their quarterly results before the end of October.

Nvidia’s 95% of the market for AI training and inference chips, is receiving a disproportionate share of the billions of dollars that the leading tech companies spend each year on their AI buildouts.

Nvidia’s revenue has more than doubled over the last five quarters, in three quarters, it has at least tripled. According to LSEG, economists predict growth of roughly 82% to $32.9 billion in the quarter ending in October, though likely to slow the remainder of the year moderately.

Nvidia said the demand for its Blackwell next-generation AI GPU was “insane,” the company anticipates making billions of dollars from the new product in the fourth quarter.