Key Highlights

• Tower Semiconductor surpassed Q1 2026 earnings expectations with adjusted EPS of $0.65, topping the $0.55 Wall Street consensus
• First-quarter revenue reached $413.6 million, marking a 15% year-over-year increase and exceeding the $408 million projection
• Second-quarter revenue forecast of $455 million surpassed analyst expectations of $436 million — potentially setting a new company milestone
• The company secured $1.3 billion worth of silicon photonics agreements for 2027 delivery, with customers already providing $290 million in upfront payments
• TSEM shares skyrocketed more than 17%, reaching a 52-week peak of $267.42

Tower Semiconductor delivered an impressive performance on Tuesday. The Israel-based chip manufacturer reported solid earnings results, provided robust forward guidance, and unveiled $1.3 billion in artificial intelligence chip agreements — creating a trifecta of positive catalysts.

Tower Semiconductor Ltd., TSEM

TSEM shares surged over 17% during early U.S. market hours, climbing to a 52-week peak of $267.42. Meanwhile, broader market indices remained subdued, with the S&P 500 declining 0.11% and the Nasdaq essentially unchanged, highlighting that Tower’s rally was driven purely by company-specific developments.

First-quarter 2026 revenue totaled $413.6 million, representing a 15% climb compared to the prior-year period, and narrowly exceeding the Street’s $408 million projection. Adjusted earnings per share landed at $0.65, comfortably beating the analyst consensus of $0.55 by a dime.

Gross profit expanded 52% year-over-year to reach $111 million. Operating profit saw even more dramatic growth, nearly doubling with a 96% surge to $65 million compared to $33 million in the first quarter of 2025.

Looking ahead to Q2 2026, Tower projected revenue of $455 million, with a variance of plus or minus 5%. Wall Street analysts had penciled in $436 million. Successfully hitting this target would establish a new revenue record for the semiconductor manufacturer.

However, the most significant development centers around silicon photonics. Tower locked in $1.3 billion in agreements for 2027 revenue from its primary silicon photonics clients — specialized chips that utilize light instead of electrical signals for data transmission, making them particularly effective for AI data center applications.

Secured Revenue Stream of $1.3 Billion

Customers demonstrated serious commitment beyond mere paperwork — they’ve already transferred $290 million in advance payments to reserve manufacturing capacity. Furthermore, they’ve pledged to place even larger orders for 2028, with additional upfront payments scheduled for delivery by January 2027.

CEO Russell Ellwanger expressed confidence, stating the company is “confident in our path toward achieving our financial model targets of $2.8 billion in annual revenue and $750 million in net profit in 2028.”

These financial objectives now carry substantial weight. The order pipeline continues to strengthen.

Credit Rating Boost Reinforces Positive Trend

S&P’s Maalot maintained Tower’s “ilAA” credit rating while elevating its outlook from stable to positive — a subtle yet significant validation of the company’s business direction.

Tower’s semiconductor products support automotive, industrial, consumer electronics, and communications sectors, though current momentum stems primarily from AI data center requirements.

In March, competitor GlobalFoundries initiated legal action against Tower, claiming patent infringement on 11 patents associated with chip production for smartphones and related devices. This legal matter remains unresolved.

Tower concluded the trading day at a new 52-week high, with the stock’s appreciation stemming exclusively from company-specific announcements rather than broader semiconductor industry trends.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is reportedly facing a parliamentary standards inquiry over whether he failed to declare a 5 million pound ($6.7 million) gift from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.

The UK Parliamentary Standards Commissioner has opened an inquiry into whether Farage breached House of Commons rules by not registering the payment, the BBC reported Wednesday.

Farage said he was under “no obligation” to declare the gift from the Reform party backer, which he received before he was elected to the Commons in 2024. Critics argue he should have registered the payment after becoming a member of parliament.

The Conservatives wrote to the parliamentary standards watchdog asking it to investigate the matter, according to the BBC. The Conservatives also raised the issue with the Electoral Commission, which is reportedly deciding whether to launch a formal investigation into the donation.

The inquiry adds to scrutiny of Farage’s financial ties to crypto-linked backers and businesses, as UK lawmakers and regulators pay closer attention to the role of digital asset money in politics.

The development comes a month after the UK Liberal Democrats called on the Financial Conduct Authority to investigate whether Farage breached market rules by appearing in a promotional video for Stack BTC while holding a financial stake in the company.

Farage previously disclosed a $286,000 equity investment in the company after acquiring a 6.31% stake through his media vehicle Thorn In The Side in March.

Related: Revolut among 4 companies chosen to test stablecoins in UK sandbox 

UK lawmakers mull halt to political crypto donations

Cryptocurrency donations to political parties have come under growing scrutiny in the UK.

Farage’s Reform UK was the first party to start accepting crypto donations in 2025. Reform recently disclosed a $4 million donation from Harborne in the fourth quarter of 2025, after receiving a record $12 million gift in the previous quarter. 

Political cryptocurrency donations are currently legal in the UK, subject to permissible rules under the Electoral Commission guidance. However, some parliamentary committees have called for a halt.

On March 18, the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy urged the UK government to impose an immediate moratorium on crypto donations to political parties until the Electoral Commission produces statutory guidance ahead of the next general election, which is due to take place by August 2029.

The committee also called for the creation of a Political Finance Enforcement Unit and for reducing the minimum declaration threshold of political donations from $14,900 to $668. It cited growing foreign-state threats and efforts to influence the UK’s positions on critical issues, including its relations with the US, the European Union and Ukraine.

Three weeks earlier, Matt Western, chair of the committee, urged the government to put a temporary halt on crypto donations to political parties, citing foreign interference risks, Cointelegraph reported on Feb. 26. 

Magazine: Clarity Act risks repeat of Europe’s mistakes, crypto lawyer warns

U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on May 13 for a formal state visit at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The visit marks a renewed high-level diplomatic engagement between the world’s two largest economies amid ongoing strategic and economic competition.

The announcement has quickly drawn attention across financial markets, where geopolitical developments between the U.S. and China often influence risk sentiment, trade expectations and cross-asset volatility. Crypto traders, in particular, are watching for potential spillover effects into liquidity conditions and speculative positioning.

Prediction markets are also reacting to the development. Platforms such as Polymarket are tracking event-based probabilities tied to U.S.–China relations, including the likelihood of trade policy shifts, tariff adjustments, or formal agreements emerging from diplomatic meetings.

Geopolitics meets prediction markets and crypto sentiment

On Polymarket, traders typically express views on scenarios such as “U.S.–China trade deal probability,” “new tariff escalation risk,” or “high-level diplomatic agreement outcomes,” allowing sentiment to be priced in real time rather than through traditional polling or analyst forecasts.

These markets have become increasingly relevant to crypto participants because geopolitical risk is now tightly linked to digital asset volatility cycles. When tensions rise, liquidity often tightens and risk assets tend to experience sharper repricing, while diplomatic easing can trigger broad-based risk-on rotations.

In the current context, the Trump–Xi meeting is being interpreted less as a single political event and more as a signal node for global macro positioning. Traders are watching whether it leads to policy clarity, trade de-escalation, or further strategic uncertainty between the two nations.

Crypto markets watch macro signals for liquidity direction

Crypto investors are closely monitoring geopolitical developments like this because digital assets increasingly trade as high-beta macro instruments sensitive to global liquidity expectations.

Improved U.S.–China relations could support broader risk appetite by reducing tail-risk uncertainty in global trade, while escalation or breakdown in talks could have the opposite effect, tightening liquidity conditions and increasing volatility across speculative markets.

At the same time, prediction markets are amplifying the speed at which sentiment is priced in. Platforms like Polymarket allow traders to hedge or speculate directly on geopolitical outcomes, effectively turning diplomatic events into tradable macro signals.

As a result, the Trump visit to Beijing is being watched not only as a diplomatic milestone but also as a potential catalyst for shifts across prediction markets, equities, and crypto-linked risk assets, depending on how negotiations and messaging unfold in the coming days.

Bitcoin (BTC) may reach $100,000 by June as Strategy’s renewed buying power and falling stablecoin dominance suggest liquidity is returning to crypto.

Key takeaways:

• Michael Saylor’s Strategy may purchase at least 3,127 BTC this week via the sales of STRC shares.
• Falling crypto market dominance of USDT and USDC stablecoins increases BTC’s odds of reaching $100,000.

Strategy resumes Bitcoin buying as STRC stock reclaims $100 par

Strategy’s preferred stock, Stretch (STRC), has reclaimed its critical $100 par value, restoring one of the company’s funding mechanisms for Bitcoin purchases, data from STRC.LIVE shows.

As of Wednesday, STRC was trading around $100.01, with estimates suggesting the preferred-share program has already unlocked enough buying power for Strategy to acquire at least 3,172 BTC this week.

Strategy’s weekly BTC buying estimates via STRC stock sales. Source: STRC.LIVE

That is nearly 235% of Bitcoin’s newly mined supply over the same period.

Strategy’s Bitcoin accumulation model becomes significantly more efficient whenever STRC trades at or above par. In those conditions, the company can issue preferred shares more aggressively, raise fresh capital, and redirect proceeds into Bitcoin.

Since February, the company has added roughly 101,700 BTC, lifting its holdings to nearly 819,000 BTC as of May 11 from about 717,000 BTC in mid-February.

Source: X

Bitcoin rose more than 40% over the same stretch, underscoring how Strategy’s latest accumulation wave has coincided with BTC’s broader recovery.

“STRC raised $5.58 billion YTD since January,” market analyst Pio Vincenzo said in a Wednesday post, adding that MSTR may raise “another $20 billion by the end of the year.”

Related: Strategy CEO Phong Le says company will sell BTC only in specific cases

Falling stablecoin dominance is bullish for Bitcoin’s price

Another bullish signal is coming from the stablecoin market.

The combined dominance of Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC is showing signs of topping near the 10%–11% resistance zone, according to a fractal analysis shared by analyst MikybullCrypto.

Net USDT and USDC’s crypto market dominance monthly chart. Source: TradingView/MikybullCrypto

Stablecoin dominance measures how much of the crypto market is sitting in digital dollars. When it falls, it usually means capital is rotating back into Bitcoin and other crypto assets.

Past cycles show a similar pattern.

During 2022–2024, stablecoin dominance dropped nearly 70% while Bitcoin rose by around 600%. Similarly, in 2021, a 54% drop in stablecoin dominance aligned with BTC’s 525% price gains.

Net USDT and USDC’s crypto market dominance vs. BTC/USD monthly chart. Source: TradingView

On average, stablecoin dominance has fallen by 61.3%, while Bitcoin has rallied by around 560% in the same period.

“BTC therefore has a higher chance for a sustained bullish reversal on the weekly chart,” MikybullCrypto said, adding:

“Reaching $100k this quarter seems likely.”

On the flip side, Bitcoin upside continues to show signs of exhaustion near its 200-day exponential moving average (200-day EMA, the blue line) at around $82,000.

BTC/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView

Failing to break above this resistance increases the odds of sell-offs in the coming weeks, with a potential rising wedge pattern hinting at a drop under $70,000 by June.

CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.

The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 2185.22, down 0.3% (-5.55) since yesterday’s close.

Seven of 20 assets are trading higher.

Leaders: DOT (+2.6%) and BNB (+1.7%).

Laggards: SUI (-3.2%) and TAO (-2.7%).

The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.

• DIU names Concordium official AI partner for 2026 IIHF event.
• Concordium launches blockchain fan ID pilot with Danish hockey.
• Partnership fee settled fully in Concordium CCD tokens.

Danmarks Ishockey Union (DIU), the governing body for ice hockey in Denmark, has named Concordium as the Official AI Partner of the Danish National Ice Hockey Team in a partnership centered on blockchain-based digital identity and artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The collaboration will officially launch during the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Switzerland and will include multiple technology-focused initiatives aimed at enhancing fan engagement through AI-powered systems and on-chain identity verification.

Concordium, which describes itself as a regulatory-grade AI infrastructure platform powered by blockchain technology, said the partnership will serve as a real-world demonstration of how verified digital identities and AI agents can operate at scale in consumer-facing environments.

Verified fan program to debut at IIHF Championship

The partnership between DIU and Concordium will initially focus on two core initiatives built on Concordium’s infrastructure.

The first is a Verified Fan Programme designed to pilot a privacy-preserving fan experience using zero-knowledge proof technology.

The system is intended to allow users to verify identity-related credentials while limiting exposure of personal information.

The second initiative is an Agentic Commerce pilot, which aims to demonstrate how verified AI agents can operate autonomously while interacting with fans and digital commerce systems.

The project builds on Concordium’s previous work involving the x402 agentic payments protocol, which is focused on enabling secure and verifiable machine-driven transactions.

“Agents transacting at scale need a verified identity they can carry and settlement rails they can trust,” said Varun Kabra, Chief Growth Officer at Concordium.

“The infrastructure for that already exists. What it has lacked is legibility, a place where mainstream audiences can see it working. We are very excited to partner with the Danish Ice Hockey team to build together a solution where AI can deliver a much superior fan experience.”

DIU said the partnership was structured around long-term technology collaboration rather than traditional sponsorship branding alone.

“We approached this the way we approach every serious collaboration, starting with what we could build together, not what would go on the jersey,” said Michael Dupont, CEO of Danmarks Ishockey Union. “Concordium is a Swiss-built and regulatory-grade AI infrastructure. The programmes planned over the course of the partnership are the kind of work that fits how Danish hockey wants to be seen.”

Partnership settled entirely in CCD tokens

As part of the agreement, Concordium branding will appear on the Danish national team’s helmets and jerseys, alongside category exclusivity across digital assets during the term of the partnership.

The organizations also said the full partnership fee was settled entirely in CCD, Concordium’s native blockchain token.

According to the announcement, the agreement represents the first national-team partnership fully paid and locked in a native protocol token.

The transaction was settled on-chain at signing, while a 12-month lock-up period was enforced directly at the protocol level.

DIU will maintain full self-custody of the digital assets under the arrangement.

Global tournament exposure supports partnership visibility

The partnership launches ahead of the 2026 IIHF World Championship, where Denmark’s national team is expected to receive broad international television exposure.

Games involving the Danish team are broadcast across Sweden, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, and the United States through networks including Viaplay, ZDF, ARD, TSN, and ESPN.

According to the organizations, the 2025 IIHF World Championship generated a cumulative live television audience of 215 million viewers and 25.6 billion event impressions across 155 territories.

DIU noted that Denmark has become an established host nation for international hockey tournaments, hosting four IIHF World Championships within eight years, including the men’s tournaments in 2018 and 2025, and women’s tournaments in 2022 and 2026.

Tokyo-listed Metaplanet reported first-quarter operating income Wednesday of 2.27 billion Japanese yen (roughly $14.38 million) on net sales of about $19.5 million, implying an operating margin of 73.6% as surging Bitcoin option income more than tripled revenue from a year earlier, according to the company’s Q1 fiscal year 2026 earnings release.

The strong operating performance contrasted with an ordinary loss of around $728 million, driven mainly by non-cash valuation losses as Bitcoin’s price declined during the period, and the company marked its expanding Bitcoin (BTC) holdings lower.

The price of Bitcoin fell around 24% during the quarter, from around $87,000 on Jan. 1 to roughly $66,000 on March 31, according to data from Coingecko.

Revenue for the quarter ending March 31 rose from about $5.5 million a year earlier to about $19.5 million, the filing shows, with the Bitcoin Income Generation business of option premiums and derivative valuation gains contributing the bulk of sales, while hotel operations remained a small, stable contributor.

BTC price fell 24% in Q1. Source: Coingecko

Metaplanet posted a basic loss of roughly $0.63 per share, widening from a loss of about $0.078 a year earlier, and kept its full-year 2026 outlook unchanged, still forecasting net sales of roughly $101 million and operating profit of about $72 million, while refraining from giving ordinary or net income guidance due to Bitcoin price sensitivity.

Strong operating income offset by Bitcoin valuation loss

Metaplanet ended the quarter holding 40,177 Bitcoin, up from 35,102 at the end of December 2025, after adding about 5,075 BTC in Q1 to become the third-largest publicly listed Bitcoin treasury, through a combination of new equity and Bitcoin-backed borrowing.

Consolidated Financial Results for Q1, FY2026. Source: Metaplanet

On a fully diluted basis, Bitcoin holdings per share increased from 0.0240486 BTC to 0.0247319 BTC, corresponding to a first-quarter BTC yield of 2.8%, which the company highlights as a key performance indicator for shareholder value creation, as it measures Bitcoin per-share growth after dilution.

Metaplanet’s capital structure continued to evolve over the quarter, with total net assets falling from $2.96 billion at Dec. 31 to approximately $2.60 billion, as Bitcoin-related valuation losses outweighed equity raised during the quarter.

Short-term borrowings also increased as the company drew further on its $500 million Bitcoin-collateralized credit facility, under which it had $302 million outstanding as of May 13, 2026, it said.

Metaplanet shares traded lower on Wednesday in Tokyo, at around 327 Japanese yen (roughly $2.07), down 3.82% at the time of writing from Tuesday’s close, according to data from Yahoo! Finance.

Magazine: Bitcoin will not hit $1M by 2030, says veteran trader Peter Brandt