3 Pieces of Noise to Ignore With Bitcoin, Solana, and Ethereum

These days, it can seem like everyone has an opinion about major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, (CRYPTO: BTC) Solana, (CRYPTO: SOL) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH). But, as with a lot of the commentary on markets and investments in general, there’s a lot of noise that’s worth ignoring, and precious few nuggets of actionable insight.

Especially if you’re not a direct participant in the cryptocurrency sector, it can be quite difficult to orient yourself correctly and keep your focus on the factors that actually matter. So let’s take a look at three types of chatter that are worth ignoring rather than engaging with as part of your investing process.

It’s reasonable for people to pay attention when a major global player, like a government, decides to exit its holdings of a cryptocurrency. Such players often command vast sums of assets, and it’s obvious that selling off those assets all at once will have a detrimental impact on the market value of the associated coins.

Take, for example, Germany’s decision to sell $3 billion worth of Bitcoin it came into possession of via asset seizures in June 2024. Aside from being the talk of the cryptocurrency town square for at least a few weeks, it also may have put a serious dent in the king cryptocurrency’s pricing, at least for a while. A prospective sale by the U.S. government of roughly $6.4 billion in Bitcoin that could occur this year could easily have a similar or even greater detrimental impact.

Sales by whales in other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum are rarely on the same scale as those by governments, but they still make headlines. Individual large holders selling a mere $33 million in mid-January of this year are gathering attention, even if the price impact isn’t as significant as with Bitcoin.

Still, these discussions are not worth following up on. In the long run it doesn’t really matter which players were selling or when. Thus, as an investor, keep your attention on the longer view rather than on what a few big investors are said to be doing.

The distributed nature of blockchain networks as they’re realized in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana is that if the validators of the network disagree about some fundamental attributes of their protocols, they can fork the chain and start a new project.

Such forks have happened numerous times in the past to both Ethereum and Bitcoin. You may have heard of these forked versions at the time, and it’s possible that you even hold a few of the forked coins.

Mark Zuckerberg's Instagram Doubles Down On Rivalry With New 'Edits' App To Lure Creators Amid Potential TikTok Shutdown

On Sunday, Meta Platforms, Inc.’s META Instagram announced a new video creation app called ‘Edits’ to attract TikTok users.

What Happened: Adam Mosseri posted a video on Instagram and unveiled the ‘Edits’ app, which resembles CapCut, a popular tool among TikTok creators.

The new app will feature a dedicated tab for inspiration, another for tracking early ideas, and a significantly upgraded camera — which he used to record the announcement video.

It will offer a suite of editing tools, the ability to share drafts with friends and fellow creators, and detailed performance insights. The ‘Edits’ app is available in app stores but will not be functional until February.

Source: Instagram

See Also: Mark Zuckerberg Lauds Sheryl Sandberg Amid Blame For Meta’s DEI Program: ‘She Did Amazing Work’

On Saturday, Mosseri also announced updates to Instagram, including changes to profile photo grids and an increase in the maximum length for Reels from 90 seconds to three minutes.

Source: Instagram

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Why It Matters:  The app’s launch follows a temporary shutdown of TikTok in the U.S. over the weekend. It also comes as other alternatives, like RedNote, gain popularity. Instagram has continued to adapt its features to compete with TikTok’s influence since its rise in 2020.

TikTok was restored in the U.S. after Donald Trump announced plans to delay the enforcement of a new law requiring the sale of the platform.

According to an analysis by eMarketer, TikTok’s ban could redirect billions in ad revenue, with Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta potentially capturing a substantial share.

TikTok generated $12.34 billion in U.S. advertising revenue in 2024. Should the platform face a ban, it is projected that between $6.17 billion and $8.64 billion in ad spending could shift to other platforms.

Meta could potentially secure an additional $2.46 billion to $3.38 billion in advertising revenue.

Price Action: Meta’s stock rose by 0.24% on Friday before slipping 0.0098% in after-hours trading, closing at $612.71, as per Benzinga Pro data.

Check out more of Benzinga’s Consumer Tech coverage by following this link.

Photo by rafapress on Shutterstock

Read Next:

Apple Stock Has Moved Up 4.2% Since iPhone 16 Launched, Analyst Says It Has Another 8% Upside As Manufacturing Cost Decline Bolsters Cupertino’s Margins

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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Jensen Huang Just Delivered Incredible News for Nvidia Stock Investors

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) was founded in 1993, and it went on to create the world’s first graphics processing units (GPUs) for computing, media, and gaming applications. Now, decades later, the company has adapted those powerful chips for data centers, where they are used to develop advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang believes data center operators will spend $1 trillion over the next four years on upgrading their infrastructure to meet demand from AI developers. Since the data center segment currently accounts for 88% of Nvidia’s total revenue, that spending will be instrumental to the company’s future success.

However, the semiconductor industry has always been cyclical, so the data center boom won’t last forever. That’s why it’s critical for Nvidia to diversify its revenue streams, and at the CES 2025 technology conference on Jan. 7, Huang delivered some incredible news for investors on that front.

Range Rover and Jaguar cars in front of Nvidia headquarters.
Image source: Nvidia.

Nvidia saw the autonomous driving revolution coming. In fact, the company’s automotive business is more than two decades old, but its revenues were so tiny that it lived in the shadow of the gaming and data center segments. That’s all about to change, because global car brands like Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, BYD, Volvo, Toyota, and more are adopting Nvidia’s Drive platform to power their autonomous ambitions.

Drive provides all of the internal hardware and software a car needs for self-driving capabilities. That includes Nvidia’s latest chip called Thor, which processes all of the incoming data from the car’s sensors to determine the best course of action on the road. But Nvidia’s opportunity doesn’t end there, because it also sells the infrastructure a car company needs to maintain and improve its autonomous models, so it can differentiate itself from the competition.

In addition to Drive, Huang says car companies are buying DGX data center systems featuring its latest Blackwell-based GB200 GPUs, which deliver the necessary computing power to continuously train self-driving software. Then there is Nvidia’s new Cosmos multimodal foundation model, which allows companies to run millions of real-world simulations using synthetic data, serving as training material for the software.

Overall, Huang says autonomous vehicles could be the first multitrillion-dollar opportunity in the emerging robotics space. He’s not alone, because Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management thinks technologies like autonomous ride-hailing could create $14 trillion in enterprise value by 2027, with the majority of that value attributed to autonomous platform providers — in this case, that would be Nvidia.

ROSEN, HIGHLY RECOGNIZED INVESTOR COUNSEL, Encourages Five9, Inc. Investors to Secure Counsel Before Important Deadline in Securities Class Action – FIVN

NEW YORK, Jan. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities, including call options, of Five9, Inc. FIVN between June 4, 2024 and August 8, 2024, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), of the important February 3, 2025 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Five9 securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Five9 class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=32046 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than February 3, 2025. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs’ Bar. Many of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, during the Class Period, defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Five9’s net new business was not “strong irrespective of the macro” and was, in fact, hampered by macroeconomic issues such as constrained and scrutinized customer budgets; (2) Five9 was in the midst of a challenging bookings quarter due, in part, to sales execution and efficiency issues, and Five9 was not “seeing very strong bookings momentum”; and (3) defendants did not have “enough information in terms of [their] existing customers that are going live” such that the statements that Five9 would see a positive inflection in its dollar-based retention rate lacked a reasonable basis. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Five9 class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=32046 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor’s ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information:

        Laurence Rosen, Esq.
        Phillip Kim, Esq.
        The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
        275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
        New York, NY 10016
        Tel: (212) 686-1060
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On Top of the World in Ocala, Florida, Named Most Popular Active Adult Community of 2024 by 55places.com

CHICAGO, Jan. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — 55places.com, the premier resource for active adult community information, has awarded On Top of the World in Ocala, Florida, the prestigious title of Most Popular Active Adult Community of 2024. This recognition highlights the community’s exceptional amenities, vibrant lifestyle, and unparalleled appeal to active adults across the country.

“We’re thrilled to honor On Top of the World as the Most Popular Active Adult Community of 2024,” said Chad Walker, Chief Revenue Officer at 55places.com. “This community consistently impresses with its top-tier amenities, welcoming atmosphere, and wide range of activities that cater to all interests. It’s no wonder so many active adults choose to call it home.”

Why On Top of the World Stands Out

With a planned 10,000 homes, On Top of the World is one of the largest active adult communities in Florida. It boasts amenities that rival luxury resorts, including:

  • Three Golf Courses: Perfect for avid golfers or those looking to take up a new hobby.
  • Resort-Style Pools: Offering a place to relax and connect with neighbors.
  • R/C Airplane Field & R/C Car Track: Unique amenities that appeal to a variety of interests.
  • 175+ Clubs and Interest Groups: From fitness classes to arts and crafts, there’s something for everyone.

Explore the Top 25 Most Popular Active Adult Communities of 2024

The latest award from 55places.com showcases the top 25 most sought-after 55+ communities of 2024. Other notable communities that ranked in the top 5 include The Villages in Florida, Sun City Hilton Head in South Carolina, Sun City in Arizona, and Oak Run in Florida.

All of these top-rated communities reflect the growing trend of vibrant, resort-style living for adults 55 and older. Whether seeking adventure, relaxation, or connection, these communities cater to diverse preferences and lifestyles, making them the ideal choice for active adults ready to embrace their next chapter.

About 55places.com

55places.com is a premier resource for active adult communities, offering comprehensive information, reviews, and tools to help individuals find their ideal 55+ living options.

For additional information, interviews, or media inquiries, please contact:

Khadeejah Johnson
Associate Vice President of Brokerage & Partnerships
267-432-2712
khadeejah.johnson@55places.com
https://www.55places.com/


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Donald Trump And JD Vance's Official Portraits: Mugshot Meme Vs Smiling Boy Scout?

President-elect Donald Trump and his incoming VP JD Vance debuted their new presidential and vice presidential portraits last week and, well, they could not have been more different.

Daniel Torok, the President-elect’s chief photographer, revealed the portraits on X. “We are entering the GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICA,” Torok wrote. His feed quickly filled up with hilarious commentary comparing and contrasting Trump and Vance as mafia don to blue-eyed Boy Scout.

“They go hard,” wrote Trump’s transition team in a one-sentence press release about the official portraits. There was no explanation about who or what went hard though we presume the two men in the portrait.

Clearly Trump’s demeanor, eyes squinting, defiant mob-boss look on his face, is not a far cry from the mugshot seen around the world when he was booked into the Fulton county jail on charges of attempting to steal the 2020 presidential election. He was clearly fuming then. But now? Five years later and the leader of the free world, what’s he so annoyed about?

Read Also: Donald Trump’s Meme Coin ‘TRUMP’ Rallies 103% in a Day, Creates Billions Out of Thin Air

There’s A Method To His Meanness

In addition to evoking a tough-guy, almost scary, masculine energy in his 2025 presidential portrait, we now know that the 2020 mugshot went on to serve a higher purpose: it helped raise funds for Trump’s 2024 election campaign as part of a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

The threatening face ultimately made its way to the recent launch of Trump’s latest NFT collection, “Trump Bitcoin Digital Trading Cards,” on the Bitcoin BTC/USD network.

CollectTrumpCards, the U.S. president as of Jan 20’s official NFT account on X, announced that buyers of 100 “Mugshot Edition” NFTs can claim them on Magic Eden by submitting their Bitcoin wallet.

So there’s money to be made on coins, as witnessed by the Saturday launch of the meme coin TRUMP TRUMP/USD that immediately soared to to $5.6 billion within just 24 hours.

And then there’s JD Vance whose bright blue eyes and congenial smile remind one of a boy scout leader in a small Ohio town who made it big and couldn’t be happier.

Things sure have changed since Gilbert Stuart painted George Washington’s portrait in 1797.

Now Read:

Photo courtesy of Trump-Vance Transition Team/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

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The Smartest Dividend Stocks to Buy With $100 Right Now

A little money can go a long way. That’s especially the case when you invest in stocks that pay you to own them.

I’m referring to dividend stocks, of course. There are plenty of great stocks that offer attractive dividends and don’t cost too much. Here are my picks for the smartest dividend stocks to buy with $100 right now.

You can scoop up a share of Ares Capital (NASDAQ: ARCC) for roughly $23 at its current price. I think doing so might be one of the best investments you can make, especially if you’re looking for income.

Ares Capital’s forward dividend yield stands at 8.4%. Why is the yield so high? Ares Capital is a business development company (BDC). To be exempt from federal income taxes, BDCs must return at least 90% of their earnings to shareholders as dividends. And this one generates a lot of earnings for its shareholders.

A key reason is the nature of the company’s business. The demand for direct lending offered by BDCs is rising due to several factors, including the speed of closing deals, and reliable access to capital during volatile periods. The total addressable market for direct lending is around $3 trillion for the traditional middle market of U.S. companies with annual revenue between $100 million and $1 billion. It jumps to $5.4 trillion if companies with annual revenue of over $1 billion are included.

Also, Ares Capital stands head and shoulders above its peers. It’s the largest publicly traded BDC, and has deep relationships in the market. It also has delivered greater dividend-per-share growth and total returns over the last 10 years than its top rivals.

Another $34 or so will buy you a share of Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD). Technically, you’ll get a unit of the midstream energy leader rather than a share, because it’s a limited partnership (LP). Investing in LPs comes with some tax hassles, but I think Enterprise Products Partners is worth the extra work.

Enterprise’s forward distribution yield was recently over 6.35%. Want even better news? The LP has increased its distribution for 26 consecutive years.

I like that Enterprise Products Partners’ business holds up well during recessions and turbulent times. Inflation doesn’t impact it very much because roughly 90% of its long-term contracts feature price escalation provisions. Enterprise’s cash flow doesn’t ebb and flow with oil and gas price fluctuations, either; it charges the same amount for using its pipelines regardless of commodity prices.

Prediction: This Stock Will Be the Biggest Quantum Computing Winner of 2025

In recent months, investors have taken a renewed interest in quantum computing. Traditional computer bits can only hold zeros or ones. However, quantum bits, commonly called qubits, can represent any value between zero and one. This advancement enables exponentially faster computing speeds in comparison to traditional computers.

The problem lies with stability, as the more qubits a computer can process, the more error-prone it becomes. For this reason, most industry analysts believe quantum computing is years away from commercial viability.

Fortunately, Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) has developed a quantum chip that is a possible game changer for the industry. With that development, Alphabet could be the most successful quantum computing stock in 2025. Here’s why.

Indeed, consumers and investors know Alphabet best for products like Google Search, YouTube, the Android operating system, and Google Cloud. Nonetheless, the company founded Google Quantum AI in 2012 and has researched the technology and built computers since that time.

Most of the focus on Alphabet in the quantum computing space revolves around Willow, its quantum chip. Willow stands out because it reduces errors as it adds qubits. This stands in contrast to past quantum chips, whose error rates increased as the number of qubits rose.

Additionally, Willow carried out a standard benchmark calculation in around five minutes. This is notable as it estimates that the fastest supercomputers in use today would take 10 septillion (10^25) years to perform the same calculation, a period longer than the entire history of the universe.

Admittedly, quantum computing is a technology in search of real-world applications. Still, the ability to address the error issues bodes well for Alphabet’s efforts to make quantum computing both beneficial and profitable.

Moreover, with commercial viability likely years away, the company’s other attributes may take a front seat in 2025 as quantum computing-related efforts remain focused on research and development.

Indeed, a massive and highly profitable digital ad business will probably help fund the company’s research. Also, a fast-growing Google Cloud enterprise contributes increasing shares of revenue and has made Alphabet increasingly critical in the IT world with its presence in the cloud and longtime innovation in artificial intelligence (AI).

Thanks to the success of those businesses, Alphabet held $93 billion in liquidity as of the end of the third quarter of 2024. Furthermore, it generated almost $62 billion in free cash flow in the first nine months of 2024 alone. Those assets put Alphabet in a strong position to fund quantum computing and any supporting technologies.

2 Soaring Stocks to Buy in January and Hold for 20 Years

You can build incredible wealth in the stock market, and it’s not as difficult as you might think. The key is to patiently hold shares of a growing company that still has a large market to expand into. Here are two stocks that have monster return potential.

Dutch Bros (NYSE: BROS) is a fast-growing beverage chain that is building a unique brand. About half its menu items are coffee-based beverages, but it’s distinguishing itself from the likes of Starbucks with a range of other drinks on its menu, including lemonade, smoothies, and sparkling sodas.

The business was founded in 1992 by brothers Dane and Travis Boersma, and it went public in 2021. After underperforming over the last few years, the stock has settled into a more reasonable valuation range that sets up attractive return prospects as the company continues to expand across the U.S.

Revenue grew 28% year over year in the third quarter. It has reached 950 locations across 18 states, which leaves plenty of room for more growth. Same-shop sales, which measures growth of existing shops open at least 15 months, were up 2.7% year over year, consistent with the single-digit increases over the last few years.

Moreover, Dutch Bros is staying disciplined in opening new locations without being too aggressive. It is profitably expanding, with net income of $22 million in each of the last two quarters.

Investing in profitable and growing restaurants when they are still small is a great way to build wealth in the stock market, and Dutch Bros is clearly looking like a very promising opportunity. With 32 states that haven’t seen a Dutch Bros shop yet, there is plenty of growth that can fuel monster returns over the next 20 years.

Coupang (NYSE: CPNG) is South Korea’s leading e-commerce store. It’s often described as the Amazon of South Korea, but the company is building a unique advantage in serving densely populated areas that could give it an edge as it expands. The stock has soared 30% over the last year.

Coupang had 22.5 million active customers that placed at least one order during the last quarter. Active customers rose 11% year over year in the third quarter, which, along with increased spending from existing customers, is driving high double-digit growth in revenue.

A key advantage for Coupang is its fulfillment infrastructure, which management says can deliver 99% of orders within one day.

This is not easy: There are more than 15,000 people per square kilometer in Seoul, South Korea. But with Coupang’s Dawn delivery service, a customer living in a large apartment complex can place an order by midnight and have it delivered by 7 a.m. the next day. Being able to serve thousands of customers with fast delivery in a highly populated area can work to Coupang’s advantage as it expands into other geographies.

AI-driven drug discovery aided by Greater Bay Area integration, Hong Kong-listed firm says

XtalPi Holdings, an artificial intelligence (AI) drug discovery firm based in the Greater Bay Area, is changing the biopharmaceutical industry by leveraging AI and robotics to transform traditional approaches to drug development.

The company’s self-developed large language model (LLM), the technology underpinning ChatGPT-like generative AI services, has helped increase the success rate of chemical experiments to 90 per cent from 20 to 30 per cent, according to Zhang Peiyu, the chief scientific officer at Shenzhen-based XtalPi.

“There are many good opportunities [for artificial general intelligence] in vertical fields,” Zhang told the Post at its China Conference: Greater Bay Area 2025 in Guangzhou. “For the pharmaceutical industry, we have seen great potential to use LLMs for specialised domains.”

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

Zhang anticipates that the integration of robotics and AI will reduce drug discovery timelines to just one or two years from four.

Peggy Sito (left), business editor at the South China Morning Post moderates a panel with Fosun Health CEO Hu Hang, Professor Li Hongsheng, chief scientist of medical foundation models at SenseTime Healthcare, MingMed vice-president Tu Fuquan, and XtalPi chief scientific officer Zhang Peiyu on January 15 in Guangzhou. Photo: Nora Tam alt=Peggy Sito (left), business editor at the South China Morning Post moderates a panel with Fosun Health CEO Hu Hang, Professor Li Hongsheng, chief scientist of medical foundation models at SenseTime Healthcare, MingMed vice-president Tu Fuquan, and XtalPi chief scientific officer Zhang Peiyu on January 15 in Guangzhou. Photo: Nora Tam>

Founded in 2014 by three quantum physicists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, XtalPi a year later established its research and development base in Shenzhen. Located in the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Cooperation Zone on the border between the two cities, the company has capitalised on local industrial policies to emerge as a key AI player in drug development, serving nearly four out of every five big pharmaceutical companies globally.

Zhang said the company’s development has been boosted by regional synergies in the bay area scheme, particularly in talent acquisition, supply chain partnerships and fundraising across cities.

The cooperation zone has attracted diverse industry players, including biotech and pharmaceutical start-ups, service providers and regulatory agencies, Zhang said.

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