Crypto remains in the red as investors look away from high-risk investments. Meanwhile, the renewed space race is picking up some serious heat with Jeff Bezos making the trip up this morning. So what will the stock market do today?
- The S&P 500 is down 1.59%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 1.09%
- The Nasdaq Composite is down 1.06%
So what else will the stock market do today? Here are some of the top stories.
What Will the Stock Market Do Today? Watch Crypto Crash… Again.
The crypto market is looking more and more bearish by the day. It seems like institutional adoption and ambitious DeFi projects from billionaires can’t save the tanking prices of Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD). And, of course, with Bitcoin holding a vast majority of the market share, most other cryptos are falling in sympathy.
Ethereum (CCC:ETH-USD) prices are tanking right now; the second-largest crypto saw highs of over $4,300, but since falling in tandem with Bitcoin, prices have reached as low as $1,700. As CoinDesk is reporting this morning, though, it’s not the end of the world. The recent market correction isn’t indicative of the end of digital currency; rather, we should consider it a calming side effect of being adopted by the traditional market.
“Crypto isn’t immune from traditional market sentiment,” says Edmond G. of B2C2. As investors in the traditional sense move toward risk-off investments ahead of Federal Reserve tapering, so too do crypto investors look for less volatile stores-of-value. Thus, we see increased interest in tokens like Tether Gold (CCC:XAUT-USD), which is pegged to the value of gold.
Overall, it will be interesting going forward and watching for a divergence in the behaviors of Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Ethereum network is eyeing an upgrade in August that will see ETH coins burned and transaction fees lowered. This builds off of the large innovations of the last few years, including the massive Ethereum 2.0 overhaul. Meanwhile, Bitcoin remains unchanged from its initial iteration, and continues to age itself out. When investors become aware of the fact that Bitcoin simply doesn’t hold the same innovation as other competitors, it’s only a matter of time before its prices determine the state of the market like they do today. Until then, as today evidences, we’re at the mercy of its jarring volatility.
Jeff Bezos Becomes One Step Closer to Commodified Space Travel
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin just hit a milestone this morning, rocketing the most valuable human into space, along with his brother and both the youngest and oldest astronauts in history. And with this next chapter of the privatized space race coming to a close, the implications are monolithic.
The launch took place in Van Horn, Texas, while you were just pouring your first cup of coffee. You can watch it in full on Blue Origin’s website if you missed out. The historic moment took place in just over 10 minutes. Upon launching, the vessel soared straight up to the Kármán line, before the viewing capsule that Bezos and the other passengers were in detached from the rocket. The rocket returned back to the earth, landing gently thanks to a last blast upward against the pull of gravity at the end of the descent. Meanwhile, the capsule floated down softly with the help of a series of parachutes.
And with that brief flight, the doors are blown wide open on space travel. Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos, through their individual flights to space, are just the first in what is sure to be a long list of paying customers looking to leave the planet, if only for a brief time. The Wall Street Journal discussed Virgin Galactic’s (NYSE:SPCE) shift from testing to sustainable business just hours after his flight. The envelope is going to continue to be pushed.
The next step is obvious: Customers are going to start lining up and paying hand-over-fist for their own trip to the edge of space. Soon, you’ll see Instagram pictures from people at the Kármán line. But what’s after that? Trips to the moon? Orbital weekend getaways, drifting alongside the International Space Station? That’s what’s so exciting about the whole spectacle; you truly can’t predict what’s coming next.
What Else We’re Watching
- The used car supply is finally normalizing after many months of inflated prices and tightened availability. According to the Used Vehicle Value Index, there are 44 days of retail supply available right now, as compared to the 30-day supply that existed in April.
- IBM (NYSE:IBM) is flexing some of its biggest earnings in years, posting $18.75 billion in revenue. The company can thank its strong cloud-computing ventures for the strong performance, contributing $6.1 billion to the higher-than-predicted number.
- The wildfires in Southern Oregon are so large, they are creating their own weather patterns. Lightning storms and huge, unpredictable wind gusts are spawning as a result of the immense energy and heat from the fires.
On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
