coverage endedJul 23, 2026, 9:00 PM
Chipmaker Intel's revenue beat helped ease sentiment after a bruising session for tech stocks, with bitcoin holding near $65,000.
Bitcoin (BTC) price on Thursday (CoinDesk)Intel jumps 8% as revenue tops estimates on AI-driven demand
Chipmaker Intel (INTC) rose about 8% in after-hours trading after reporting second-quarter revenue that beat expectations, helped by strong demand for AI computing and data center chips.
The semiconductor giant posted $16.1 billion in revenue, up 25% from a year earlier, marking its fastest quarterly growth in more than 15 years. Adjusted earnings came in at $0.42 per share, while revenue was driven by a 59% jump in the company's Data Center and AI business.
CEO Lip-Bu Tan said AI demand continues to fuel growth across Intel's processor, foundry and advanced packaging businesses.
Intel also issued an upbeat outlook for the current quarter, forecasting $15.8 billion to $16.8 billion in revenue and adjusted earnings of $0.38 per share.
The strong report eased sentiment in tech stocks after a bruising session. Nasdaq 100 futures rebounded from the lows, trimming losses to about 1.6%.
Bitmine, Strategy lead crypto stock decline as Nasdaq falls 2.2%
Crypto-related stocks closed firmly in the red as Thursday’s big tech sell-off selling dragged down risk assets.
Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, fell 6.5%. BitMine Immersion (BMNR), Tom Lee’s Ethereum treasury company, slid 6.8%, while Circle (CRCL), the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, dropped 6.3%.
The Nasdaq ended the session 2.3% lower, leaving the tech-heavy index within striking distance of a two-month low and about 8% below its June peak, nearing correction territory.
Crypto prices also weakened, though the moves were more muted. Bitcoin (BTC) slipped 1.8% to around $64,800, while ether (ETH) lost about 3% to trade near $1,870.
Robinhood Vlad Tenev's X account hacked in meme coin scam
Robinhood (HOOD) said CEO Vlad Tenev's X account was compromised after hackers used it to promote a fake meme coin called "Vladhood" ($VLAD), claiming it would be listed on the trading platform.
The fraudulent post appeared Thursday ahead of Robinhood's earnings release and falsely described the token as the "official Robinhood chain mascot" while encouraging users to buy it.
"Our CEO Vlad Tenev's X account was compromised and posted a fake promotion for a meme coin," Robinhood said on X.
The incident comes just a week after hackers compromised Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky's X account to promote tokenization-related scams, highlighting a growing trend of cybercriminals targeting high-profile executives' social media accounts to lure crypto investors into fraudulent token launches.
Bitcoin slips below $65,000 as stock decline turns into a rout
A run-of-the-mill down day on Wall Street is accelerating in late-morning action.
An expansion in the Iran war has crude oil surging — with Brent crude up more than 7% and over $100 per barrel for the first time in two months. That’s ratcheting up inflation expectations, and, in turn, interest rates, with traders now baking in nearly a 40% chance of a Fed rate hike next week. Those odds were in the single digits a few days ago.
On top of that are rising AI spending concerns. Tesla and Google reported second-quarter results last night, with each company boosting expected AI-related capex spend far beyond what analysts had estimated.
Google, in fact, posted its first negative quarterly free cash flow since going public more than 20 years ago, and the company expects that to remain the case for the foreseeable future.
Tesla is lower by 14% and Google by 8% on Thursday, helping push the Nasdaq to a 2.65% loss. The S&P 500 is down 1.5%.
Bitcoin was trying to hold the $65,000 level, but recently lost it, now down about 2% over the past 24 hours at $64,700. Ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), and solana (SOL) are posting somewhat larger declines.
What’s working today? Let’s just say it’s good to be a weapons manufacturer or oil producer. Lockheed Martin is higher by 11% and RTX by 7.5%. Exxon and Chevron are each ahead just shy of 3%.
Google capex spend has hyperscalers under pressure, but data center names rising
Google (GOOG) is down 6% after lifting expected AI-related capex spending guidance this year to $195 billion to $205 billion, with expectations for a “significant” increase in 2027.
That’s hitting other AI compute consumers like Meta and Amazon, both of which are down about 3%. Apple is lower by 1.75% and Microsoft is down 0.5%.
The beneficiaries of some that spend — former bitcoin miners who are now in the AI compute business — are surging. Cipher Mining (CIFR), Riot Platforms (RIOT), and Hut 8 (HUT) are higher by around 7%. TeraWulf (WULF), Keel Infrastructure, and IREN (IREN) are up in 3%-4% range.
'Satoshi for life': Arthur Hayes comments on BitMEX shutdown
“Thank you to my partners, my BitMEX employees, and most importantly our clients,” said BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes. “It was an amazing ride. We did something special together. And I'm so proud of what we created and that we will shut down responsibly on our own terms. F-ck TradFi, F-ck the Banks, F-ck the man. Satoshi for life.”
Hayes was among the three co-founders of BItMEX in 2014. He hasn’t had an operational role there for several years.
Read more: BitMEX, the exchange that invented perps, is shutting down
Trump vows retaliation for Houthi attack
“Unfortunately, now [the Houthis] are starting up again, shooting at two Saudi Arabian ships last night,” said President Trump minutes ago in a Truth Social post.
“Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves,” he continued.
Oil continues 5% higher for the day, with Nasdaq 100 futures dropping to session lows, down 1.3%.
Bitcoin is also near the day’s low at $65,100.
ECB leaves rates unchanged, U.S. initial jobless claims plunge
As expected, the ECB left its benchmark rates unchanged at its just-concluded policy meeting.
The central bank’s posture, though, remained hawkish: “The full inflationary impact of the energy shock has yet to play out,” said the governing council in its statement.
In other economic news, weekly U.S. initial jobless claims plunged all the way down to 187,000 versus 212,000 expected. It’s a number so low (lowest since 1969) that one wonders whether there was a data-collection snafu.
In any case, it all adds up to more pressure on the bond market and on the Federal Reserve to raise rates. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield is up five basis points to 4.71%, its highest level of the year.
The Fed meets next week and expectations of a rate hike have surged to nearly 40% from roughly nil just days ago.
Goldman Sachs CEO backs Clarity Act as Senate prepares for possible vote
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon voiced support for the Clarity Act, saying the legislation would help establish a clearer regulatory framework for digital assets and allow the market to develop more effectively.
"The CLARITY Act — like all legislation — is not perfect," Solomon told Politico. "But I think one of the most important things that it does is that it creates a level playing field to enhance market stability and allow these markets to develop appropriately." He added that he was "very supportive of moving the CLARITY Act forward, so we can get some market structure in place and start to move the innovation process along."
His comments come as Republican senators circulated updated text of the bill ahead of a possible Senate floor vote next week.
Solomon's remarks are consistent with comments he made in February, when he criticized the economic effects of excessive regulation. "When you burden this system with excessive regulation, you start to extract capital," he said. While emphasizing the need for thoughtful oversight, he added: "It's got to be done thoughtfully, and we've got to get it right."
Michael Saylor's Strategy among group formed to combat quantum threat to Bitcoin
The Bitcoin Security Consortium is “an initiative dedicated to supporting the long-term security and resilience of the Bitcoin network, backed by an aggregate $15 million in member pledges over the next three years,” reads a Thursday morning press release.
Founding members are Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, BlackRock, Block, Blockstream, Coinbase, Fidelity Digital Assets, Galaxy, and Strategy.
Another bitcoin treasury company is selling bitcoin
U.K.-based The Smarter Web Company announced the sale of about 178 of its bitcoin, raising roughly $11.7 million to fund repayment of convertible debt held by the TOBAM Group.
The company now holds 2,700 bitcoin.
“We do not currently believe [convertible debt] represents the right capital solution for The Smarter Web Company,” said CEO Andrew Webley.
While the amounts are small, it’s yet another data point in the bottoming process as the 2025 bitcoin treasury company mania devolves into a series of BTC sales, executive departures, reverse stock splits, and outright liquidations.
Bitcoin edges lower as Iran war expands, sending oil surging
Oil supply fears are rising again after Iran-backed Houthis claimed an attack on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
WTI crude oil has soared nearly 5% to $91 per barrel, its highest level since early June.
That’s put the bond market under even more pressure, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield up 4 basis points to another cycle high of 4.70%. The 2-year yield has risen to 4.33%, with traders now having priced in nearly a 40% of a Fed rate hike next week.
Nasdaq 100 futures are lower by 0.75%, led by a 4% decline in Google after its earnings report last night. Bitcoin (BTC) is down 0.5% over the past 24 hours at $65,500.
Bitcoin ETFs attract almost $1 billion in a 7-day inflows streak
Institutional demand is back and how.
The U.S.-listed spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have pulled in nearly $1 billion in investor money over a period of seven straight trading days.
Investors have allocated almost $500 million this week alone, the best performance since early May, according to data source SoSoValue.
Bitcoin’s recently price topped $66,000 for the first time since mid-June and was last seen at around $65,680.
Bitcoin holds $65,400 as Alphabet's bigger AI bill props up the chip trade
Bitcoin traded near $65,400 on Thursday, down 0.3% on the day and up 1.4% on the week, per CoinDesk data.
The market stayed quiet through Alphabet's earnings, the report the whole week had been waiting on for a read on AI spending.
Alphabet delivered a split verdict. Revenue rose 24% to $119.8 billion and cloud grew 82%, both ahead of expectations, but the company lifted its 2026 capital spending forecast again, to $195 billion to $205 billion from $180 billion to $190 billion, citing a "supply-constrained" scramble to meet AI demand.
Its stock fell after hours as investors weighed the heavier spend against slimmer free cash flow.
Alphabet's own shareholders may not like a fatter bill, but more capital pouring into AI infrastructure is what chip stocks have rallied on. Asian chipmakers rose again on Thursday, with the Kospi up 3.6% and Samsung and SK Hynix both up more than 2% on bets they will capture some of that spending.
The majors were flat. Ether held near $1,916, XRP at $1.13 and Solana at $77, with Hyperliquid the outlier, down 11% on the week. Oil kept climbing, extending a July rally that has revived inflation worries.
The next test is the Fed on July 28 and 29.
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Crypto Flows, Share and the Selective Rotation
Crypto Flows, Share and the Selective Rotation
Markets repositioned since June, but Binance held share (~55% user funds, ~24% spot) and drew net inflows in early July while the tracked market saw outflows.
Jul 22, 2026
Markets repositioned since June, but Binance held share (~55% user funds, ~24% spot) and drew net inflows in early July while the tracked market saw outflows.
Why it matters:
Markets repositioned since June, but Binance held share (~55% user funds, ~24% spot) and drew net inflows in early July while the tracked market saw outflows.
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