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#ETC ETC is still trading inside a clean descending channel. After bouncing off the lower bound near 15.60, it’s now eyeing the mid-level around 17.0 - Current bounce shows strength from the channel bottom - Rejection zone near 17.8–18 must flip to break structure - Break above the channel = opens 21 as the next major target - Failure to hold this bounce = another sweep toward 15.5 possible Still a range-bound play — but the coil is tightening near key resistance.

Are stablecoins the new points program? Context: Amazon, Ant group, Walmart, Sony, plus all major US banks all recently announced intention of exploring issuing of stablecoins. → Companies issue stablecoin and points for similar reasons. Both points programs and issuing stablecoins can boost revenue & profits and be managed regardless of what products or services the company sells. → However, there are also critical differences. For one, stablecoins are 1-1 backed by a dollar, while points have variable redemption rate and operate only in a closed loop system. → What if stablecoins can be exchanged with points? This is not much of a stretch as points redemption for cash back is already a feature for credit card programs. If a company already has a points program, adding redemption of points to a company-issued stablecoin makes a lot of sense: the company gets to keep the value on its balance sheet and collect yields. → One potential downstream effect: C2B stablecoin payment becomes the next target for stablecoin-enabled companies. Cutting out the credit card network here could mean more value left to go between the consumer, merchant, and stablecoin issuer. Partner companies already have points transfer programs--it is not a stretch to see stablecoin payment programs. (Take above with a grain of salt as I'm just spitballing.)

🔍 Market Reaction to Israel–Iran Tensions Bitcoin & Major Cryptos Sell Off Bitcoin dropped to a low of $103,274, recovering to about $105,000, ultimately down ~2–3% as markets responded to Israel’s strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities . Ethereum sank ~7–9%, XRP declined ~4–5%, and Solana plunged ~8–9%—altcoins experienced even steeper losses . Capital Flight from Risk Assets Investor sentiment turned risk-off: $1B+ in crypto liquidations swept across the market, hitting BTC ($300M), and SOL (~$50M) . Total crypto market capitalization fell from ~$3.47T to ~$3.22–3.26T in just two days . Push to Traditional Safe-Havens Gold rose 1.1–1.8%, the US dollar, yen, and franc strengthened, while oil spiked ~7–9% . Analysts noted Bitcoin’s drop during this period casts doubt on its “digital gold” label . 📈 Technical Insights Some market observers view this dip as a bullish “fractal” setup, similar to October 2024’s pullback–rebound. BTC found support around $102.8K and bounced off its 50-day moving average—a potential setup for a new rally . 🧭 Takeaway for Crypto Investors 1. Geopolitical spikes often trigger swift risk-off reactions in crypto. 2. Safe-haven flows favored gold and fiat, not digital assets—BTC is still behaving like a risky asset. 3. However, technical bounce patterns could signal buying opportunities as volatility subsides. 4. Strategy: Monitor conflict news for spillover into market sentiment. Use dips for re-entry, but maintain discipline via stop-losses and position sizing.

Oracle’s share price surged by about 24% this week, marking its strongest performance since April 2001, as investors reacted positively because of strong earnings and a positive outlook for its cloud business. Nearly all of the gains came in the two trading days following the release of Oracle’s quarterly results, reported CNBC . The last time the company saw a comparable weekly spike was during the dot-com crash in April 2001, when any rebound was short-lived. In contrast, Oracle had seen its share price plunge by almost 50% in the previous quarter. The company is no longer behind in cloud computing. It has found its niche and is attracting customers who want to run AI workloads on its systems “Oracle is in the enviable position of having more demand than it can fulfill” noted Joseph Bonner, an analyst at Argus Research, in a client bulletin on Friday. He advised investors to buy the stock and boosted his 12-month price target from $200 to $235. On Friday, Oracle shares closed at a record high of $215.22. In its earnings announcement late Wednesday, Oracle reported revenue and profit that beat analysts’ expectations. CEO Safra Catz projected that fiscal-year sales would top $67 billion, above the $65.18 billion consensus forecast from LSEG. “The demand is astronomical,” said Chairman Larry Ellison during the earnings call. “But we have to do this methodically. The reason demand continues to outstrip supply is we can only build these data centers, build these computers, so fast.” In the fiscal year ended May 31, the company’s capital spending exceeded $21 billion, a sum greater than its total investment from 2019 through 2024. Catz told investors that spending should climb to $25 billion in fiscal year 2026. By comparison, Google plans about $75 billion in capital outlays this year, and Microsoft aims for $80 billion. Oracle’s roster of cloud customers now includes major AI players such as Meta , OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI, all of which rely on Nvidia graphics processors to train generative AI models that can produce text, images and video from simple prompts. This week, Oracle also added startups Baseten, Physical Intelligence and Vast Data to its cloud lineup. “We will build and operate more cloud infrastructure data centers than all of our cloud infrastructure competitors combined,” Ellison added. So far in 2025, Oracle shares have risen about 29%, while the Nasdaq composite has gained less than 1%. Among top U.S. technology firms, Meta is the next best performer this year with a roughly 17% increase. KEY Difference Wire helps crypto brands break through and dominate headlines fast

OpenAI says it will keep working with Scale AI even after Meta Platforms Inc. made its multibillion-dollar investment in the data-labeling firm. At the VivaTech conference in Paris on Friday, OpenAI’s chief financial officer, Sarah Friar, stressed the importance of keeping a wide range of partners. As mentioned in a Bloomberg report , she warned that shutting competitors out could slow down progress across the industry. “We don’t want to ice the ecosystem because acquisitions are going to happen,” Friar said. “If we ice each other out, I think we’re actually going to slow the pace of innovation.” OpenAI is the first of Scale AI’s major clients to speak up since Meta announced the deal on Thursday. Under the agreement, Meta will take a 49% stake in Scale, valuing the startup at more than $29 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. Scale AI was set up in 2016 to supply cleaned and organized data that helps train artificial-intelligence systems. The company also creates custom AI tools for corporate and government customers. Proceeds from the new investment, Scale AI says, will go to its shareholders, speed up its research and development, and bolster service for existing clients. Meta will remain a minority owner of Scale’s shares. For Meta, this is one of its biggest outside investments. The move underscores the company’s effort to shore up its AI work after delays on a key new model. The Wall Street Journal had reported earlier that Meta aimed to invest about $14 billion for a nearly half-stake in Scale AI. According to Scale, the partnership will widen their commercial ties and help roll out Scale’s data solutions more quickly. A Meta spokesperson added, “We will deepen the work we do together producing data for AI models, and Alexandr Wang will join Meta to work on our superintelligence efforts. We will share more about this effort and the great people joining this team in the coming weeks.” Despite moving to Meta, Scale’s founder, Alexandr Wang, will stay on the startup’s board. Jason Droege, who became Scale’s chief strategy officer in September, will serve as interim CEO. Based in San Francisco and now nine years old, Scale AI employs over 100,000 independent contractors worldwide. These workers tag images, craft sentences, and type out entire passages. Their efforts teach AI programs how to recognize objects, form thoughts, and generate human-like text. Scale AI counts OpenAI, Google, and Meta among its clients. It has also started offering software that lets businesses build their own AI tools, though that remains a smaller slice of its work. Before joining Scale, Jason Droege was a venture partner at Benchmark, an early-stage investment firm, and he co-founded Uber Eats, the ride-hailing giant’s food-delivery service. Your crypto news deserves attention - KEY Difference Wire puts you on 250+ top sites