Artificial intelligence has now expanded its dominance to US equities and the credit market.

The shift is rewriting how capital flows through Wall Street, with AI-linked companies crowding out traditional sectors from benchmark indices while also redefining the largest corners of the bond market.

AI Stocks Hit Record 45% of S&P 500 as Credit Markets Follow Suit

AI-linked stocks now account for a record 45% of the S&P 500’s total market cap, according to data from The Kobeissi Letter. That share has risen by 20 percentage points since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022.

Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens

The shift in the credit market is equally stark. A record 15.4% of US investment-grade debt is now tied to AI, up +3.5 points since 2020. It has also become the market’s largest segment.

Total AI-linked debt has nearly doubled since 2020, reaching an all-time high of $1.4 trillion. Hyperscalers such as Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle have dominated the trend.

Together, the five issued $121 billion in US corporate bonds during 2025, well above the $28 billion annual average they posted between 2020 and 2024.

“Never before has a single theme dominated both US equity and credit markets to this magnitude,” The Kobeissi Letter wrote.

The AI trade is also reshaping global equity leadership. Taiwan’s stock market cap climbed to $4.14 trillion, passing the UK’s $4.09 trillion for the first time.

The country’s market cap has tripled since 2020, driven almost entirely by semiconductor stocks. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) alone accounts for more than 40% of the market capitalization.

In effect, the trajectory of AI adoption and monetization may now set the direction for much of the global market. Meanwhile, any pause could expose how much of that valuation rests on a single theme.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch leaders and journalists provide expert insights

The post AI Swallows Wall Street: Stocks Hit Record 45% of S&P 500 Market Cap appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Source link

Key takeaways

• ADA is trading below key resistance zones, signaling a bearish near-term bias and limiting recovery attempts.
• Whales are reducing their exposure to ADA, which could lead to further price decline. 

Cardano (ADA) continues to trade under pressure, hovering below $0.250 on Friday as price action remains subdued beneath key resistance zones. 

On-chain data from Santiment indicates that certain whale wallets have begun reducing their holdings, adding to selling pressure.

Whales reduce exposure amid shifting accumulation trends

Santiment’s Supply Distribution data points to a weakening outlook for Cardano as large-wallet investors adjust their positions. Whales holding between 100,000 and 1 million ADA and 1 million–10 million ADA have collectively offloaded around 80 million tokens since April 19.

Furthermore, wallets in the 10 million–100 million ADA range have accumulated approximately 60 million ADA over the same period. 

Advertisement

This divergence suggests a rotation in holdings: mid-sized whales are selling, while larger entities are absorbing supply. Such behavior often reflects distribution at elevated levels, increasing short-term downside risk.

Cardano’s derivatives data present a mixed outlook with a slight bearish tilt. CoinGlass data shows open interest falling to $444 million on Friday, down from $490 million on April 18. This indicates declining trader participation and weakening speculative demand.

Additionally, ADA’s long-to-short ratio stands at 0.80, its lowest level in over a month. A ratio below 1 indicates bearish positioning, with more traders expecting price declines.

Despite that, the funding rate paints a bullish narrative. The OI-weighted funding rate turned positive on Thursday and currently sits at 0.0076%, suggesting that long positions are paying shorts—often interpreted as a mild bullish signal.

Advertisement

Cardano price outlook: bears continue to halt recovery

The ADA/USD 4-hour chart is bearish and efficient as Cardano remains technically weak, trading below $0.250. 

The coin is facing immediate resistance at the 50-day EMA of $0.258, followed by $0.269 (23.6% Fibonacci retracement) and the 100-day EMA at $0.294.

Momentum indicators remain neutral. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) sits at 51, while the MACD is flat just above zero, indicating a lack of strong directional conviction.

If the bearish trend persists, immediate support is found at $0.245. A breakdown below this level could expose ADA to further losses toward $0.220, a key prior-cycle support zone.

Advertisement

However, if the bulls regain control and close above the $0.258 resistance, it would be the first sign of recovery strength, potentially opening the path toward $0.269 and higher resistance levels near $0.294 and $0.299. 

An extended bullish reversal would require a move above $0.323 and eventually toward the 200-day EMA near $0.383.

---

Share this article

---

Categories

---

Tags

Advertisement

Source link

Bitcoin whales are buying the bounce. Hodlers are not. The split between the two cohorts tells a very different story than the one the Bitcoin price rally is showing.

Bitcoin (BTC) trades at $77,670 on April 24, sitting inside a rising channel that has defined the chart since February 24. The rally back above $77,000 looks constructive on the surface. Yet beneath it, two on-chain signals pull in opposite directions. And the divergence reveals what the biggest wallets are actually doing.

Bitcoin Whales Buy Every Bounce, and the April 22 Crossover Was the Trigger

The 10,000 to 100,000 BTC whale cohort has a clear pattern. They buy local bottoms, ride the bounce, and step back. Santiment data shows the cohort jumped its stash from 2.26 million to 2.27 million BTC within four days of Bitcoin’s February 6 low under $62,000. The same cohort added from 2.23 million to 2.26 million BTC between March 23 and early April as price bottomed near $67,700. Now, they are buying again, starting April 22.

Want more token insights like this? Sign up for Editor Harsh Notariya’s Daily Crypto Newsletter here.

The April 22 buy had a technical trigger. On the 12-hour chart, the 20-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA), a trend line that averages price with more weight on recent candles, crossed above the 200-period EMA. That bullish crossover formed the exact day whales restarted buying. This points to a timing (opportunistic) trade rather than a conviction bet.

ARK Invest’s Q1 2026 Bitcoin Quarterly adds context. The big money buyers expanded their holdings by 69%, from 2.13 million to 3.60 million BTC during Q1’s 22% drawdown, marking the fastest accumulation pace since the 2020 cycle. However, price has since recovered off those lows.

And the current whale buying is happening at $77,000, not the $68,200 levels where ARK’s conviction data was captured. These are bounce buyers, not bottom buyers.

Hodlers Are Not Joining the Rally, Validating the Bottom Is Not In

If this rally were the start of a durable recovery, mid-term holders would be adding. They are not. Glassnode’s Hodler Net Position Change, a metric that tracks whether mid-term holders are accumulating or distributing BTC, peaked at 38,401 BTC on April 21 at a BTC price of $76,470. By April 24, that reading dropped to roughly 32,303, a 16% collapse in three days. Conviction wallets are not chasing the bounce.

The real conviction wallets are not chasing the bounce. That could be possibly due to the lack of a clear market bottom indicator, one that we highlighted in our previous Bitcoin price analysis.

Bitcoin Price Faces Rejection at $79,528 as the Channel Top Caps the Rally

Bitcoin pushed to the top of its rising channel at $79,528 on April 22 before reversing. That rejection aligns with the whale pattern. The bounce trade ran into the same upper trendline that has capped every rally since February, and without hodler support, the move has stalled.

A daily close above $79,528 would flip the structure and open the channel’s ceiling near $80,000, with hodler conviction likely to follow. However, rejection here exposes the 0.236 Fibonacci retracement at $75,523 as the first downside test.

A break under $75,523 opens $73,046 and $71,043, and a slide toward the 0.786 Fibonacci level at $66,190 would unlock the channel floor near $62,559. The January rally of 10% can unwind quickly if whales decide the bounce has no legs. For now, $79,528 separates a confirmed breakout from another whale-led bounce that fades back into the channel.

The post Are Bitcoin Whales Opportunists? On-Chain Data Reveals the Truth appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Source link

A journalist films Xiaomi SU7 Ultra cars during a Xiaomi track day driving experience in Tianjin, in northern China on April 23, 2026, ahead of the Beijing Auto Show which opens on April 24. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP via Getty Images)

Greg Baker | Afp | Getty Images

BEIJING — Foreign automakers are finally catching up with their Chinese rivals on technology, as they battle a sales slump in the world’s largest car market.

Advertisement

U.S., Korean and German automakers rushed to announce a new lineup of models for China around the Beijing auto show that kicked off Friday.

“We have plans to really build this brand and return [to] where we used to be in terms of volume and [market] share,” Will Stacy, vice president, Cadillac China at General Motors, told CNBC’s Eunice Yoon.

Cadillac on Wednesday announced its first car with driver-assist technology for China: a three-row “luxury” electric SUV, priced at 468,000 yuan ($68,000) and 508,800 yuan.

Called the VISTIQ, the vehicle uses advanced driver assist software that can handle highways and city roads, as well as automatic parking. The tech was co-developed with Chinese autonomous driving startup Momenta.

Advertisement

“We’ve been mostly an ICE [internal combustion engine] brand here in China, and with this vehicle that enables us to enter the game here in China,” Stacy said. He said sourcing locally in China allows Cadillac to compete effectively with its local rivals — cutting production time to 18 months — while the brand aims to attract customers with a promise of trust on safety.

Hyundai officially launched its all-electric IONIQ brand in China on Friday as the Korean automaker kicks off its most ambitious local expansion to date.

“China is where the future of mobility is being defined, and Hyundai intends to help define it, in China, for China, and ultimately, for the world,” José Muñoz, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, said in a release.

Muñoz added in an interview with CNBC’s Eunice Yoon that as China has fallen from 17% to 4% of Hyundai’s total sales, the automaker had to “reimagine the strategy.”

Advertisement

Hyundai’s new IONIQ V also comes with advanced driver-assist co-developed with Momenta, and offers voice-control functions using an AI assistant that runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 chipset.

Muñoz told CNBC that Hyundai could export the brand to Asia-Pacific, Australia and the Middle East if sales in China do well.

Hyundai’s China sales in March were about a third of what they were in the same month in 2019, before the pandemic. A number of other foreign carmakers have also seen sales drop over the same period. Figures compiled by CNBC suggest Nissan sales in China in March were down 47% on March 2019, while Cadillac fell 39%.

“I’m glad to see that these foreign brands are humble enough and recognize the value of the Chinese tech that they’re incorporating it,” said Stephen Dyer, partner and managing director and head of AlixPartners’ Asia automotive and industrials consulting practice.

Advertisement

He’s less optimistic that the foreign brands can win back significant market share in China, but said they have an opportunity to bring technology from China to their home markets.

“I think the technology … will disseminate throughout the world,” Dyer said. “I don’t think you can keep it locked up in the bottle of China. I think it’s already gone out.”

Cars with personality

German automaker Volkswagen, which is also embarking on its most ambitious China product campaign, announced Tuesday that it will begin rolling out AI-powered voice command in its cars in China starting in the second half of the year.

“The car should be like a companion,” Volkswagen China CTO Thomas Ulbrich said.

Advertisement

He said the company’s in-car AI agent would draw on tech from Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu, among others, to create a tool with “personality” that can anticipate a driver’s needs.

Volkswagen revealed four cars in Beijing on Tuesday, including the ID. UNYX 09, which the company said it co-developed with EV maker Xpeng in two years.

The German automaker has built a research and development center in Hefei where it can manage the entire production process.

Read more electric car stories

Hyundai and its local state-owned partner BAIC had committed 8 billion yuan to a joint venture as of December 2024.

Advertisement

The venture, Beijing Hyundai, plans to introduce 20 new models in China over the next five years. The cars include the new IONIQ V, and another SUV in the first half of 2027 — with the goal of 500,000 sales annually.

China market leader BYD recorded sales of 688,993 in China in the first three months of 2026, though that marked a 30% drop on the same period in 2025. BYD sold 2.26 million battery-powered cars globally last year, exceeding Tesla‘s 1.64 million vehicle sales.

On average, 10 to 15 cars launch in China in the span of about a month, which means automakers “need to remain relevant and fresh” for customers who face many choices, Ivan Espinosa, president and CEO of Nissan, told CNBC’s Elaine Yu.

“The fact that we have established dealers with established experience, good relationships and good service for them, this is also starting to become more and more important,” Espinosa said.

Advertisement

Nissan plans to launch five new energy vehicles utilizing plug-in electric technology in the next 12 months.

The Japanese automaker has a joint venture with China’s Dongfeng, and integrated DeepSeek AI capabilities into its N7 electric sedan last year.

Weekly analysis and insights from Asia’s largest economy in your inbox
Subscribe now

— CNBC’s Matthew Chin contributed to this report

Advertisement

Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

Source link

Source link

For years, enterprise blockchain adoption was measured through wallet growth, transaction counts, and pilot announcements. Now, in 2026, a different benchmark is gaining attention. 

Financial institutions and regulators increasingly want to know who operates the networks they may rely on for tokenization, settlement, and real-world financial activity.

That focus places validator identity near the center of the next adoption cycle. As banks, asset managers, and regulated service providers move deeper into blockchain participation, they are looking beyond passive exposure and toward direct operational roles. 

This trend is especially visible in Asia, where digital asset regulation has advanced quickly and institutional engagement continues to expand. 

It is also visible in ecosystems built with enterprise participation in mind, including XDC Network, which has developed a validator model centered on known operators and accountability.

HashKey Cloud Joins XDC Network as a Masternode Validator

That direction gained another example with HashKey Cloud joining XDC Network as a Masternode Validator.

HashKey Cloud is the institutional staking and node services arm of HashKey Holdings, a publicly listed group on the Hong Kong exchange. Its entry into validator operations on XDC adds another regulated operator to a network already known for targeting trade finance, tokenized assets, and enterprise use cases.

Indeed, rather than limiting involvement to investment positions or advisory partnerships, established firms seem to be taking responsibility for transaction verification, ledger maintenance, and governance functions.

This is especially important as institutions evaluating network risk often assess governance standards, uptime expectations, operator accountability, and jurisdictional alignment alongside technical performance.

What is a Masternode Validator?

On XDC Network, Masternode Validators are responsible for validating transactions, maintaining the ledger, and participating in governance decisions.

Unlike fully anonymous validator environments, XDC uses a curated validator model built for enterprise-grade reliability. 

The structure aims to serve organizations that require predictable operations and identifiable counterparties across critical workflows such as trade finance, treasury products, and tokenized securities.

HashKey Cloud enters this role with regulatory standing across major Asian markets, including licenses tied to the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Securities and Futures Commission.

For institutions considering blockchain-based operations, the presence of known and supervised validators can support internal risk reviews, vendor due diligence, and compliance processes.

Chen Shanlong, Head of Asia at XDC Network, said the partnership reflects the type of participation the network has been building toward.

“Every institution that joins as a validator strengthens the case for XDC as the network that financial institutions and governments can rely on. These institutions operating at the validator level bring compliance standards, governance accountability, and a level of credibility that anonymous operators cannot provide.”

The Pattern Behind XDC’s Validator Set

HashKey Cloud joins a validator ecosystem that already includes major corporate and financial names such as Deutsche Telekom, SBI Holdings, and UOB Venture Management.

Rather than pursuing scale through a large anonymous validator base, XDC has prioritized recognized operators with institutional standing.

This model may appeal to sectors where transaction certainty and governance visibility carry high importance. Trade finance, cross-border business payments, supply chain records, and tokenized fixed-income products often require standards closer to traditional financial markets than open retail networks.

The network has already developed traction in tokenized real-world assets, with more than $1.3 billion in tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds and private credit reportedly facilitated on-chain.

As tokenization grows, the validator conversation may become increasingly relevant. Asset issuers and institutional users are likely to ask who secures the chain hosting regulated products, how governance decisions are made, and whether operational participants can be held accountable.

Asia’s Expanding Role in Institutional Blockchain

Asia remains one of the strongest regions for this trend.

Hong Kong has advanced digital asset licensing. Singapore continues to develop regulated frameworks for tokenized finance and digital payment activity. Regional banks and financial groups are exploring tokenized deposits, securities settlement, and blockchain-based treasury infrastructure.

Leo Li, CEO of HashKey On-Chain BG, said XDC’s track record in trade finance and tokenization made it a natural fit.

“Asia is at the forefront of institutional blockchain adoption. As financial institutions and governments across the region move toward blockchain-based settlement and tokenization, we see this as the first of many steps in deepening our engagement with the ecosystem.”

What Comes Next

The next phase of blockchain competition will, no doubt, differ from earlier cycles.

Instead of focusing mainly on token listings or retail activity, enterprise networks may compete on validator quality, regulatory readiness, governance standards, and proven real-world use.

XDC Network is well aware of this, with additional institutional validator partnerships across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe expected in the coming months.

Validator identity may become one of the clearest indicators of which networks are prepared for institutional-scale finance.

The post Validator Identity as the Next Test of Institutional Blockchain Adoption appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Source link

Source link

Ether’s 10-day ETF inflow streak just snapped hard. Ethereum price is slipping to $2,300 in today’s Asia session, but that doesn’t mean we are getting a bearish prediction.

Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded a net outflow of $75.9 million on April 23, abruptly ending a 10-day consecutive inflow run. Yesterday’s compares poorly with the prior session’s $96.4 million in ETH ETF inflows. Yesterday was a $172.3 million single-day swing in the wrong direction.

Meanwhile, spot Bitcoin ETFs drew $223 million on the same day, extending their own inflow streak to eight days. Strategy’s latest purchase, worth $2.54 billion, added further tailwind to the BTC side of the ledger.

With an $8.6 billion BTC/ETH options expiry landing today and Bitcoin dominance sitting at 60%, the ETH/BTC trade is suddenly back in focus.

Discover: The best pre-launch token sales

Ethereum Price Prediction: $2,500 A Pipe Dream?

ETH opened today at $2,375 before sliding to $2,310 by late morning, a move that put the price back below the $2,400 uptrend level that bulls need to reclaim. Binance analysts flag $2,500 as the critical support zone, warning that failing to break the resistance level could open the path to $2,200.

24-hour volume dropped 8% to approximately $17 billion, which can mean capitulation is still ahead. The Fear & Greed Index sits at 39 (Fear), way better than what it was during last month’s extreme fear situation. RSI registers around 58, technically neutral, so there is still some room to run.

If ETH can reclaim $2,400 once again with recovering volume, not just $2,500, it could as well try to retest the higher $2,800–$3,000 resistance.

The options’ expiry on April 24 adds a near-term volatility wildcard. Price could whip either direction into the settlement print before establishing a cleaner trend. Stay alert.

Discover: The best crypto to diversify your portfolio with

LiquidChain As Liquid as Ethereum ETFs

ETH’s ETF streak ending mid-rally is a useful reminder: even assets with genuine institutional momentum can stall at the wrong technical junction. Rotation into earlier-stage infrastructure plays tends to pick up precisely when large-cap assets lose momentum at resistance. It’s a dynamic worth considering.

LiquidChain ($LIQUID) is a Layer 3 infrastructure project positioning itself as the cross-chain liquidity layer, fusing Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana liquidity into a single execution environment. Developers deploy once and access all three ecosystems simultaneously, which addresses one of DeFi’s most persistent friction points: fragmented liquidity across incompatible chains.

The project’s Unified Liquidity Layer and Single-Step Execution architecture are the core differentiators. Its presale has raised $700K to date at a current price of $0.01452 per LIQUID token. Not to forget its high 1400% APY staking bonus for early buyers.

Research LiquidChain and review the presale terms here.

The post Ethereum Price Prediction: Today’s Options Expiry as 10 Straight Days of ETF Inflows Snap appeared first on Cryptonews.

Source link

Source link

Source link