Monday is over and a busy week in the stock market is kicking off. Ahead, investors can expect initial public offerings from 11 companies, including European Wax Center, Weber and Adagio Therapeutics, a Covid-19 antibody maker. But beyond getting to know some new stocks, what else did the stock market do today?

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• The S&P 500 closed down 0.18%
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.28%
• The Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.06%

So what else did the stock market do today? Here are some of the top stories.

What Did the Stock Market Do Today? Embrace Fintech.

After initially dipping on news it acquired Afterpay (OTCMKTS:AFTPY) for $29 billion, Square (NYSE:SQ) closed higher by more than 10%. Perhaps that is because investors decided the fintech tie-up simply made sense. As Jack Dorsey put it, Square and its Cash App have found a lot of success, particularly in a world pivoting to e-commerce and contactless payments. Buy now, pay later solutions from Afterpay simply add to that quickly growing ecosystem.

Square and Afterpay were not alone in gaining today. Many investors rallied behind Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM), a recently public player in the BNPL space. Like Afterpay, Affirm offers retailers a chance to entice consumers with payment installments. Roughly 60% off its highs, it could also offer exposure to fintech at a good value.

But buy now, pay later specialists were not the only winners. The market also chased up names like SoFi (NASDAQ:SOFI) and Paysafe (NYSE:PSFE). According to Macquarie Research analyst Paul Golding, Square purchasing Afterpay is a sign that the boom in e-commerce is not ending anytime soon.

While investors have largely accepted that e-commerce is the way forward, the reopening narrative has shaken near-term confidence in the space. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) recently disappointed, sharing that the return to normal has shoppers moving back to brick-and-mortar spending. But with Square spending big to further cement its role in the space, investors should find faith in the future of online shopping.

Crypto Miners Dodged an Infrastructure Bullet

Although not immediately obvious, the massive infrastructure bill making its way through the Senate carries great weight in the cryptocurrency world. That is because one of the proposed mechanisms to pay for the large-scale funding involves taxing cryptocurrency transactions.

As InvestorPlace contributor Chris MacDonald so eloquently explained, nobody likes taxes. Therefore, no group of stocks would respond particularly well to taxes being levied on their sector.

However, a key change in wording actually stoked a rally in crypto mining stocks like Canaan (NYSE:CAN), Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) and SOS (NYSE:SOS). So what do you need to know?

Initially, lawmakers proposed raising $28 billion in taxes from crypto transactions, largely through boosting reporting requirements. Those who looked closely also saw that an earlier draft of the bill broadened who would be considered a “broker,” potentially including decentralized exchanges and mining outfits.

The latest draft of the bill, which lawmakers released last night, helped tone down those worries. According to CoinDesk, now only companies that directly provide services to customers will qualify. Therefore, investors got to rally behind crypto miners with tax threats now off the horizon.

One more thing to watch: Another crypto bill is making its way through Congress, and this one comes with some pretty specific regulations. You can read more about it here.

What Else We’re Watching

• General Electric (NYSE:GE) officially enacted its 1-for-8 reverse stock split on Monday, sending its shares into triple-digit territory. The company first announced the split in March as part of an effort to reduce share count. GE says it will now be more in line with companies of a similar market capitalization.
• Not everyone is happy about the start of a new month. Why? Many on Wall Street consider August a historically poor month. Factoring in ongoing fears around the Delta variant, inflation and lower market liquidity, some analysts are on edge.
• Lucid Motors (NASDAQ:LCID) may not be sharing much in terms of concrete updates, but investors are still excited. One reason for the hype is a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. There, the company reaffirms its target to start production in the second half of 2021. It also shares plans to start manufacturing activity in Saudi Arabia this year.

On the date of publication, Sarah Smith 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.