Equities update - August 3rd, 2026

Week 31 initially saw a further deterioration across global equities as leveraged positions in the AI trade were unwound, particularly in Korea and across several prominent hedge funds, driving a sharp increase in market volatility before sentiment recovered later in the week. This occurred against a backdrop of continued uncertainty around the interest-rate outlook: Fed Chair Warsh offered little clarity on the path of future policy, while the long end of the Treasury curve moved higher amid persistent inflation and fiscal concerns. By contrast, shorter-dated yields declined following the FOMC’s decision to leave rates unchanged, resulting in a steeper yield curve. At the corporate level, earnings remained bifurcated, with strong results from semiconductor and mega-cap technology companies contrasting with weaker updates from exchanges and payments platforms, where subdued crypto volumes and fee income were partly offset by continued progress in diversifying revenue streams.

Week 31 key developments in Blockchain Equities:

• Index performance: The Index was broadly unchanged during the week, outperforming Bitcoin, which declined 1.56%. The FOMC left interest rates unchanged, while Chair Warsh did little to reassure the long end of the Treasury market, with 30-year yields rising to levels last seen in 2008. By contrast, the two-year yield declined, resulting in a steeper yield curve. Equity-market volatility was further heightened by an unwind in leveraged AI trades, although a rebound later in the week helped the Index recover earlier losses and finish broadly flat.

• Block Index key movers: 7-day top performers: Nexon (+18.9%), Sony Group (+13.5%), GMO Internet (+9.1%) 7-day worst performers: Samsung (-20.6%), Softbank Group (-19.8%), Keel Infrastructure (-15.8%) 

• Index crypto-financial earnings highlight the value of revenue diversification - Earnings from Coinbase, Robinhood and SBI Holdings showed that weaker spot activity continues to pressure traditional crypto-exchange economics, while platforms with broader financial ecosystems are proving more resilient. Coinbase’s transaction revenue declined 21% sequentially, although record trading-market share, US$20bn of average USDC balances and rapid growth in derivatives and prediction markets helped subscription and services account for 48% of net revenue. Robinhood’s crypto revenue fell 38% to US$100m, but event-contract revenue increased to US$156m, while strength in equities and options drove total transaction revenue 44% higher. SBI delivered the strongest group-level result, with revenue rising 28.8%, although its crypto segment remained loss-making despite 25.9% revenue growth, reflecting subdued market activity and continued investment ahead of anticipated demand. SBI remains in an investment phase, building a more integrated franchise spanning domestic exchange, B2C2 institutional liquidity, stablecoins and tokenisation. Overall, despite weak crypto-trading earnings, the results suggest that durable value increasingly lies in controlling multiple layers of the crypto ecosystem rather than relying solely on spot-trading fees.

•  Earnings recap – key holdings:

  • Samsung, SBI Holdings, Standard Chartered – Positive

  • Strategy Inc, Meta Platforms, Core Scientific, Robinhood – Mixed

  • Coinbase – Negative

Other news - Index constituents:

• Galaxy Digital acquired approximately 500 acres in McGregor, Texas, for its second major AI and HPC campus. The initial development is expected to reach 74 MW and begin receiving power in 2028, with potential expansion into a multi-hundred-megawatt campus through 2030. No anchor tenant has been announced, so the project represents development optionality rather than contracted backlog at this stage.

• Core Scientific signed 15-year agreements with AMD covering approximately 530 MW across five sites, representing more than US$14bn of potential base contracted revenue. The wider partnership could support up to 2.5 GW, although capacity beyond the initial 530 MW remains uncontracted optionality.

• Strategy repurchased 288,930 STRC shares for US$25m, at an average price of US$86.52 and approximately a 13.5% discount to stated value. The transaction retired US$28.9m of preferred notional and reduced annual STRC dividend requirements by approximately US$3.5m.

• Block, Coinbase and Galaxy Digital joined BlackRock, Fidelity Digital Assets, Strategy and other firms in forming the Bitcoin Security Consortium. Members pledged an aggregate US$15m over three years to support Bitcoin open-source development and longer-term security research, including post-quantum cryptography.

Other news – Non-Index constituents:

• Applied Digital reported adjusted quarterly revenue of US$240.4m, adjusted EBITDA of US$42.4m and NOI of US$39.9m as its first Polaris Forge 1 data centre became fully operational.