Today’s data-backed look at UAE retail investing shows a distinct tilt toward AI infrastructure and enterprise software in Q1 2026, as investors used a price dip to add exposure to select tech names. The analysis from eToro examines quarter-on-quarter changes in holders and the most-held stocks among UAE users, highlighting that software and AI hardware plays moved higher even amid broader market volatility and concerns about AI disruption. The findings suggest a disciplined approach: investors differentiate winners from laggards and focus on names they see as integral to the tech value chain and monetisation potential.

Key points

• ServiceNow led Q1 2026 risers with a 125% jump in holders as the stock fell about 32% in the quarter, with headlines about AI partnerships contextualizing the move.
• AI infrastructure stocks posted strong holder gains: Super Micro Computer +65%, Micron +39%, and Oracle +38%.
• Micron was an exception to price declines, rising on stronger AI memory demand and limited new supply.
• NVIDIA remained the most-held stock; Amazon moved to second and Microsoft to fourth, while Tesla and Apple shifted positions in the top ranks.
• Top fallers included Twist Bioscience, Okta, CoreWeave, and BioMarin, reflecting mixed exposure across sectors.

Why it matters

The data indicate UAE investors are applying selective exposure to technology, using a price dip to anchor long-term bets in AI infrastructure and software. Even amid talk of the ‘SaaSpocalypse’ and geopolitical volatility, the flow of holders shows sustained conviction in names tied to AI deployment and monetisation potential, while investors differentiate winners from laggards. The pattern points to a focus on scale and earnings visibility rather than broad risk-off sentiment.

What to watch

• Watch for updates on ServiceNow’s AI partnerships with OpenAI and Anthropic, cited in the report as context for investor activity.
• Monitor reactions to the Super Micro Computer event, including the co-founder’s charges, and how it influences near-term sentiment.
• Track Micron’s AI memory demand trajectory and supply dynamics as potential near-term drivers.
• Observe shifts in the top held mega-cap stocks (NVIDIA, Amazon, Microsoft) in upcoming quarterly data.

Disclosure: The content below is a press release provided by the company or its PR representative. It is published for informational purposes.

UAE retail investors buy the dip on AI infrastructure and enterprise tech in Q1 despite ‘SaaSpocalypse’ fears

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – April 14, 2026: Against a backdrop of geopolitical conflict in the Gulf and rising investments in AI, retail investors increased their exposure to software and AI infrastructure stocks whose share prices have taken a hit in the first quarter of 2026, according to the latest data from trading and investing platform, eToro.

eToro looked at which companies saw the largest proportional change in holders quarter-on-quarter (table 1) and also examined the 10 most held stocks on the platform among users based in the UAE (table 2).

Software and SaaS names featured prominently in the Q1 top risers list, suggesting UAE investors used the sector-wide sell-off to buy the dip. ServiceNow topped the list with a 125% jump in holders as its share price fell around 32% in Q1, although in the same quarter it announced partnerships with AI heavyweights OpenAI and Anthropic. Adobe ranked third (54% increase in holders) even as the stock came under pressure over concerns about its ability to defend its core software business against AI disruption. Shares were down about 25% by mid-March, along with news that the chief executive would step down, suggesting UAE investors were buying during the pullback.

AI infrastructure was another clear theme in Q1: Super Micro Computer (+65%) in second place, followed by Micron (+39%) in fifth, and Oracle (+38%) in sixth. Investors appear to have bought into a late-quarter sell-off with Super Micro Computer. The stock had traded largely sideways before tumbling 33% after US prosecutors charged the co-founder over an alleged scheme to smuggle Nvidia-powered servers to China. Oracle also fits the buy-the-dip theme. The stock has been volatile amid concerns about spending tied to its AI cloud expansion.

The standout exception was Micron, one of the few names in the group to post stock price gains over the quarter. The move was driven by stronger momentum from surging demand for AI memory chips and limited new supply.

George Naddaf, Managing Director at eToro (MENA), said: “In Q1, UAE investors approached technology with selectivity and opportunism. Some of the companies that drew the strongest increase in holders had fallen to around 25% to 33%, suggesting investors were willing to buy into the sell-off where they still saw long-term value.”

He added: “Despite talk about the ‘Saaspocalypse’, the idea that AI will dismantle traditional SaaS business models, UAE investors showed sustained interest in software. They are honing in on companies that they believe have a clear role in the tech value chain and potential for monetisation. While geopolitical tensions added to market volatility, the pattern in holdings suggests UAE investors were driven more by sector conviction than by a broad risk-off mindset.”

Other Q1 risers spanned multiple sectors. Investors pushed e.l.f. Beauty to fourth place by increasing holdings 52%. They also drove gains in Duolingo, Gorilla Technology, Hims & Hers Health, and SoFi Technologies, highlighting interest in companies across digital education, IT services, telehealth, and fintech.

Q1’s ‘top fallers’ list featured a mix of industries. Twist Bioscience Corporation led the pack with a 90% decrease in holders, followed by Okta (-49%) and CoreWeave (-47%). BioMarin Pharmaceuticals also saw a big decline, with holders down 35% QoQ.

The most widely held stocks were largely unchanged from last quarter, with only minor reshuffles in the top half. NVIDIA held onto first place, while Amazon rose to second, and Microsoft to fourth. Tesla slipped to third and Apple to fifth, while positions six to ten remain unchanged.

Naddaf remarked: “Local investors’ selective approach to technology is further evidenced by the fact that AI and tech companies feature in both the risers and fallers lists. They appear to be making efforts to distinguish between the winners and laggards of the AI revolution.”

Looking at the most held ranking, he added: “It suggests UAE investors are continuing to treat these names as core positions rather than short-term trades. NVIDIA held onto the top spot, while Amazon moved up to second and Microsoft climbed to fourth, but the ranking is largely unchanged. This points to continued conviction in mega-cap technology companies contributing to AI infrastructure and enterprise applications. In a quarter marked by uncertainty, that kind of stability points to a confidence in scale, earnings visibility, and relevance.”

Table 1: Shows which stocks have seen the biggest proportional increase and decrease in holders on the eToro platform in the UAE, quarter-on-quarter.

Table 2: Shows stocks most widely held by eToro users in the UAE, and their position last quarter.

Notes :

Past performance is not an indication of future results.

The tables compare data from the eToro platform on the final day of Q1 2026 with the final day of Q4 2025. The data refers to funded accounts of eToro users in the UAE.

The data in the first table shows the 10 stocks that have seen the largest proportional increases and decreases in holders on the eToro platform quarter-on-quarter (Q1 2026 vs Q4 2025).

The data in the second table shows the top 10 most-held stock positions (open positions) by investors on the eToro platform at the end of Q1 2026. As the vast majority of stocks traded on eToro are real assets, this data does not include positions held as CFDs.

Stock price data from Yahoo Finance.

All data accurate as of after market close on 31 March 2026.

Media Contact

PR@etoro.com

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Revised PARITY Act would exempt everyday regulated stablecoin payments from capital gains, aligning them with cash-like transactions in the U.S. tax code.

Under a new draft of the Digital Asset PARITY Act in Washington, gains on everyday payments made with regulated dollar-pegged stablecoins could be ignored for tax purposes, a shift that would make routine USDC and USDT spending effectively tax-free for many U.S. users if enacted. The bipartisan proposal, led by Representatives Steven Horsford and Max Miller in the House, is being circulated as a discussion draft that rewrites how the tax code treats digital assets and payment tokens.

Today, the Internal Revenue Service classifies stablecoins as “digital assets” taxed as property, meaning that every sale, exchange or use of USDC or USDT is treated as a potential capital gain or loss event. Tax firms note that converting crypto into USDC, swapping one stablecoin for another or using a stablecoin to buy goods all trigger reportable transactions, even if the price stays close to $1.

According to a summary of the PARITY draft reported by CryptoSlate, the bill would create a carve-out for “Regulated Payment Stablecoins,” so that “sellers recognize no gain or loss” on qualifying transactions as long as the token trades within a $0.99 to $1.01 band and meets strict issuance standards. In that framework, the taxpayer’s basis is deemed to be $1 per unit, and minor fluctuations within the band are simply ignored for day-to-day payments.

A separate write-up of the reintroduced PARITY Act explains that instead of a flat dollar limit per transaction, the new draft focuses on whether a taxpayer’s cost basis falls below 99% of the stablecoin’s redemption value, effectively eliminating capital gains calculations for most small consumer payments in regulated coins. Only USD‑pegged stablecoins issued by authorized entities and keeping their peg within 1% for at least 95% of trading days over the prior 12 months would qualify, tying the tax benefit directly to regulatory status and price stability.

At the same time, the bill would extend traditional wash-sale rules to digital assets like Bitcoin and other actively traded tokens, closing a long-standing loophole that allowed aggressive tax-loss harvesting in volatile crypto markets. For now, however, IRS guidance continues to treat every USDC or USDT disposal as taxable, and any relief for stablecoin users will depend on whether Congress can push the PARITY Act from draft form into law amid broader debates over U.S. crypto regulation and dollar-backed stablecoins.

• Integration date: XRP goes live on Rakuten Wallet for spot trading April 15, 2026, with XLM, DOGE, SHIB, and TON listed alongside it.
• User scale: Rakuten Pay has 44 million users; Rakuten’s broader Japan ecosystem covers over 100 million member IDs.
• Mechanism: Users convert Rakuten Points directly into XRP, then fund Rakuten Cash – usable at over 5 million merchant locations – meaning XRP functions as a bridge asset, not a directly held consumer token in most transactions.
• Points pool: More than 3 trillion Rakuten Points, valued at approximately $23 billion USD, are eligible for conversion – creating a large but loyalty-locked source of potential XRP demand.
• Regulatory footing: Rakuten Wallet operates under FSA licensing and JVCEA membership, giving the rollout compliance cover in one of the world’s most structured crypto jurisdictions.
• What it does not do: This is not an open XRP wallet; it does not give users direct custody of XRP outside the Rakuten ecosystem, and merchants receive fiat – not XRP – at point of sale.
• Watch: Whether Rakuten Bank’s planned FinTech integration (flagged at its March 27, 2026 AGM) enables seamless fiat-to-XRP conversion across its 17 million banking accounts by Q3 2026.

Key Takeaways:

• What was breached: Internal systems containing customer data were accessed via insider recruitment – no full system compromise and no customer funds were at risk, according to Kraken.
• Scope: Approximately 2,000 individuals potentially had their information viewed, representing roughly 0.02% of Kraken’s total user base; all affected users have been contacted.
• Extortion mechanism: Criminals are threatening to release videos of Kraken’s internal systems and distribute customer data fragments to media and social platforms unless demands are met.
• Kraken’s response: Percoco stated publicly: “We will not pay these criminals; we will not ever negotiate with bad actors” – and confirmed active federal law enforcement engagement across multiple jurisdictions.
• Insider pattern: A February 2025 incident involved a similar video shared on a criminal forum; in both cases, an individual from within the company was identified.
• Sector context: Wrench attacks on crypto industry personnel increased more than 75% year-over-year, with CertiK attributing over $40 million in confirmed losses to such attacks last year.
• Watch: Whether law enforcement arrests materialize and how Kraken’s delayed IPO timeline absorbs the reputational exposure from a second consecutive security incident.

High Roller Technologies Inc. (ROLR) stock more than doubled after the online casino operator said it planned to introduce an event-based prediction market in the U.S. in conjunction with Crypto.com.

The Las Vegas-based company said Tuesday it will initially offer its customers Crypto.com Derivatives North America (CDNA) event contracts in the U.S. across finance, sports and entertainment. CDNA is a CFTC-registered exchange and clearinghouse and affiliate of Crypto.com. It didn’t say when the planned market would start operating.

The company’s share rose as much as 130% and were recently 65% higher at $8.32. Crypto.com’s CRO token gained 3% after the announcement to 7 cents.

Prediction markets have quickly gone from being niche betting platforms to a growing sector of sophisticated trading platforms that aggregate real-world event probabilities. Leading participants include Kalshi, a CFTC-regulated U.S. exchange for event contracts, and Polymarket, one of the largest decentralized markets covering politics, sports and economics. The market is expected to mature into one with trading volume in excess of $1 trillion by 2030, according to High Roller.

Prediction markets are running at an annualized revenue rate above $3 billion, up from about $2 billion in December, and could reach $10 billion by 2030, according to a recent report by U.S. bank Citizens.

Binance’s on‑chain perps launch collides with big BNB and Binance Life outflows.

Binance Wallet has rolled out perpetual futures trading on its app and web interface, tying the launch to an “exclusive Alpha Task Points campaign” that rewards users who generate at least $1,000 in cumulative perpetual volume with 3 Alpha Points during an April 14–28 event, with rewards due by May 12. According to the official Binance announcement, the feature, powered by derivatives venue Aster, lets users trade leveraged perpetuals directly from their keyless wallet on BNB Smart Chain, with markets covering “crypto pairs, blue‑chip stocks, popular ETFs, and commodities.”

In its notice, Binance said the upgrade brings “the same seamless and powerful on-chain trading experience from website to app,” emphasizing that only trades executed via the Binance Wallet keyless interface count toward Alpha rewards and that each user ID can only claim the 3‑point bonus once. Binance’s Alpha Points program, previously scrutinized in a crypto.news story on bot abuse and reward gaming, has become a key funnel for access to early airdrops and listings on the exchange’s Alpha platform.

On-chain, analyst Yu Jin has highlighted heavy accumulation of Binance Life (Binance‑linked memecoin BNB Life) by a suspected controller address cluster that withdrew 57.88 million tokens (about $9.37 million) from Binance in 20 hours via six wallets, after earlier pulling 59 million tokens in February. PANews, citing Yu Jin’s monitoring, reported that the entity now holds roughly 116.9 million Binance Life on-chain—around 11.7% of total supply and worth approximately $21.71 million at recent prices—after the token’s price jumped sixfold in two weeks from $0.037 to $0.22.

Foresight News, referencing data from analytics platform Onchain Lens, separately noted that 15 newly created wallets withdrew about 138.26 million Binance Coin from Binance over three days, worth roughly $30.78 million, underscoring sizable positioning shifts across the exchange’s native asset stack. While large BNB outflows have previously coincided with accumulation trends tracked by Onchain Lens and others, the current pattern unfolds as Binance Wallet leans harder into on‑chain derivatives and Alpha‑driven incentives, deepening the feedback loop between exchange‑adjacent tokens, reward schemes and speculative flows.

Trading venues Robinhood (HOOD) and Coinbase (COIN) could emerge as the main public-market beneficiaries of the rapid rise in prediction markets, according to a new report from Cantor Fitzgerald.

The report argues that while leading platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket remain private, listed companies are already tapping into the trend by integrating event-based trading into their apps.

These markets let users buy contracts tied to real-world outcomes, from elections to economic data, with prices reflecting the crowd’s view of probability.

“Prediction markets have exploded onto the scene,” Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Ramsey El-Assal wrote, noting that contract volumes are expected to continue their “impressive recent growth trend.”

For firms like Robinhood and Coinbase, the appeal is straightforward. Prediction markets generate revenue through trading activity, not by taking the other side of bets. That model mirrors equities and crypto trading, where both companies already operate at scale.

Robinhood, in particular, has seen strong early traction. The company launched its prediction markets hub following the 2024 U.S. election cycle, and the product quickly became one of its fastest-growing business lines by revenue. Since launch, users have traded billions of contracts tied to sports, politics and macro events.

Coinbase has taken a similar approach but is earlier in its rollout. Its prediction market offering, powered by Kalshi’s infrastructure, is now available across its user base. While still in its early stages, the product spans categories such as crypto, economics and global events.

Cantor frames the opportunity as a function of scale. Platforms with large retail audiences and existing trading infrastructure have a built-in advantage, allowing them to drive liquidity and participation quickly.

The report also pushes back on the idea that prediction markets are simply gambling. “A common misunderstanding about prediction markets is that they are gambling platforms in disguise,” it said. Instead, users “trade against other participants by buying contracts they believe are ‘underpriced’ and selling ‘overpriced’ contracts,” similar to equities markets.

That structure means platforms earn fees from activity, not losses. Prices update in real time as new information enters the market, creating what the report describes as “continuously updated forecasts” driven by financial incentives.

Beyond retail use, Cantor sees longer-term applications in hedging and forecasting. “Prediction markets will emerge as a versatile tool for institutional investors,” the report said, pointing to potential use in risk management and macro hedging.

Still, regulation remains the key uncertainty. The report describes the current environment as “messy,” with federal and state authorities split on whether prediction markets fall under derivatives law or gambling rules.

Cantor’s bottom line is that prediction markets are unlikely to fade. As the regulatory picture becomes clearer, firms with large user bases and strong distribution, such as Robinhood and Coinbase, could be in the best position to capitalize.

Key Insights

• Charles Hoskinson suggests community centers as the way to achieve sustainable growth instead of expensive crypto conferences.
• The Cardano (ADA) community declined a plan to spend 14 million ADA on hosting large-scale international events.
• ADA lacks momentum even amid constant efforts of ecosystem expansion and cross-chain integrations.

Cardano Moves Away from Media Attention Towards Long-Term Growth

Cardano (ADA) becomes the focus point for a discussion on governance, with the coin’s creator, Charles Hoskinson, questioning the necessity of major crypto conferences.

As ADA has been struggling to make any significant progress in price action terms, the topic of discussion has moved away from media appearances to the issue of the optimal use of funds accumulated in the treasury to achieve the greatest possible growth of the ecosystem.

According to Hoskinson, appearances at conferences and participating in cryptocurrency-related events is not what can help users develop their interest in the project. He claims that, at this stage of Cardano’s development, there is nothing more important than fostering regular and valuable participation in the community.

This comes against the backdrop of ADA trading near $0.2383 as the bearish sentiment persists in the market.

Hoskinson Proposes Development of Community Hubs Instead of Global Events

Instead of investing money in costly global events, Charles Hoskinson has started a new initiative of developing community hubs across many cities around the world. The main aim behind such an initiative is that the developer community can get together on a consistent basis to foster innovations and learning.

As per the initiative, there would be regular meetups, hackathons, and startup incubation camps organized to create a pipeline of developers and startups. Already one example of such a community hub is in the city of Buenos Aires where there are about 100-200 participants every single event.

As the community hubs have been planned to be hosted bi-monthly, there would be no shortage of activities at all for interested participants. Such events can provide sustainable benefits compared to global events which cannot offer any long-lasting connections and benefits.

Community Rejects Proposing Spending of 14 Million ADA on Event

A more heated discussion began following the community vote on allocating 14 million ADA on hosting crypto events. These included attendance at international conventions such as TOKEN2049 in Singapore and upcoming Cardano summits.

Nonetheless, this proposal was eventually voted against by the community. This was because the representatives in charge of governance had raised objections regarding the ROI of investing in such events.

Many agreed that such money could have been much more wisely spent on activities fostering ecosystem development. It is worth noting that this trend signifies an increase in decentralized governance among the Cardano (ADA) blockchain platform.

Expansion of the Ecosystem via Cross-Chain Strategy

Even amid the current difficulties, Charles Hoskinson still sees a bright future for Cardano. The founder has not stopped talking about the importance of increasing the number of users and introducing new features such as cross-chain connections.

One of the projects which is expected to be a part of the cross-chain strategy of Cardano is Midnight. The goal of the protocol is to attract people who currently use other blockchains, including Bitcoin, Solana, and XRP.

Such an initiative might lead to the further development of decentralized finance solutions and improve adoption rates.

Prospects: Adoption vs Price Growth

Despite efforts directed at expanding the ecosystem, the prices of ADA have demonstrated poor results compared to those of the competition. In general, analysts have different expectations regarding the future of this project.

There are those who think that the current strategies related to infrastructure development and increased participation in it from developers are bound to eventually boost prices. At the same time, others have their concerns regarding lackluster metrics and overall market environment.