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A Qubit generator (Alain Jocard/Getty Images)

Swiss Hit

Swiss tech company spikes after touting its ability to protect bitcoin from quantum computers

Protecting one investment mania from another.

12/23/24 9:44AM

SEALSQ Corp. — a Swiss tech company listed on the Nasdaq worth less than $250 million heading into this week — was one of the most actively traded US stocks in the premarket and soared as much as 40% in early trading on Monday.

The company “today announced that it is at the forefront of developing innovative solutions to address the challenges posed by quantum computing,” according to a press release. “Through its QUASARS project, SEALSQ is advancing the field of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) by creating hybrid solutions and quantum-resistant hardware designed to secure critical systems such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain networks.”

Alphabet’s recent breakthrough with its Willow chip has catalyzed a huge bid for quantum-computing stocks, and at times undermined what’s been a massive postelection rally in cryptocurrencies.

SEALSQ, which went public in 2023 via a spin-off, generated a little over $30 million in revenues in 2023 and posted less than $5 million in sales for the first half of 2024.

Its press release goes on to unpack some vulnerabilities faced by bitcoin and how these could be addressed “with its cutting-edge technology and dedication to cybersecurity,” without much in the way of specifics.

This isn’t a “Long Island Iced Tea Corp turned Long Blockchain” situation, though: the company has been touting its post-quantum algorithms since before this subsidiary was even available to be publicly traded as a standalone entity.

Crypto proponents like ethereum developer Vitalik Buterin have suggested that the threat to the industry from quantum computing might not be that dire, since their systems will be able to be upgraded as quantum-computing capabilities proliferate.

Matt Phillips51m

Talen soars on new power plant purchases in giant grid feeding Data Center Alley

Talen Energy soared early Thursday after the Houston-based utility said it had bought power plants in the massive PJM exchange, which has seen rising consumer prices linked to AI infrastructure.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday on how the run-up in prices has been a growing political headache for data center developers.

Yesterday, PJM cut its forecast for peak summer of 2027 demand, suggesting that data center electricity demand going forward may have been overstated.

But Talen’s purchase of natural gas-fueled plants — one in Indiana and two in Ohio — for $3.45 billion in cash and stock suggests the company remains bullish on the AI build-out, especially within the 13-state PJM grid. The nonprofit power grid serves 67 million people from New Jersey to Kentucky, and includes key areas of relatively high data center density such as Ohio and Virginia.

Early Thursday, Talen shares were up by the most since last July. This reaction to the latest in a string of acquisitions suggests Talen executives have an incentive to stay on offense.

Talen Energy Continues Portfolio Expansion with Acquisition of Additional High-Quality PJM Natural Gas Assets from Energy Capital Partners

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday on how the run-up in prices has been a growing political headache for data center developers.

Yesterday, PJM cut its forecast for peak summer of 2027 demand, suggesting that data center electricity demand going forward may have been overstated.

Early Thursday, Talen shares were up by the most since last July. This reaction to the latest in a string of acquisitions suggests Talen executives have an incentive to stay on offense.

Max Knoblauch55m

Spotify increases its US subscription prices for the third time in 3 years

The cost to stream music and podcasts ad-free on Spotify is going up again in the US next month, marking the third price hike by the company since 2023.

The monthly cost of individual premium plans will increase from $12 to $13, while family plans will jump from $20 to $22. Spotify last raised US prices in July 2024 (and 2023 before that). This is the first price hike under the tenure of new co-CEOs Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström, who together replaced Daniel Ek earlier this month.

Spotify shares climbed about 3% after the market opened on Thursday, but has since fallen in early trading.

When it reported third-quarter earnings in November, the streamer said its global paid subscriber count had climbed to 281 million — 12% year-over-year growth. At the same time, ad-supported revenue fell 5.5% despite an 11% jump in monthly active users.

J. Edward Moreno57m

ACA enrollment deadline arrives with Congress still at an impasse over subsidies

The deadline to enroll in Affordable Care Act coverage has arrived with lawmakers yet to reach a deal to help keep millions of their constituents on their healthcare plans.

The Biden-era enhanced subsidies have now expired and lawmakers have yet to agree on what, if any, assistance could be provided going forward, with premiums expected to skyrocket. Americans have until Thursday to enroll in coverage for 2026.

The biggest providers of ACA Marketplace plans, like Oscar Health, Molina Healthcare, Centene, and UnitedHealth dipped as the enrollment deadline passed.

A solution reached after Thursday may be harder to implement considering many people have already forgone coverage. About 22.8 million people enrolled in ACA plans as of January 3, according to data released on Monday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, down from 24.3 million in 2025.

Luke Kawa & Millie Giles2h

BitMine announces $200 million investment in Beast Industries, the business arm of YouTube star MrBeast

Not content with generating money through digital assets, BitMine Immersion Technologies is also attempting to cash in on another largely incorporeal industry: the attention spans of young people.

The ethereum treasury company announced a $200 million equity investment into Beast Industries, the holding company for the various ventures of YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast. While most of these operations revolve around digital content, we’d be remiss not to note that this also includes Feastables.

“MrBeast and Beast Industries, in our view, is the leading content creator of our generation, with a reach and engagement unmatched with GenZ, GenAlpha and Millennials,” said BitMine Chairman Tom Lee. “Beast Industries is the largest and most innovative creator based platform in the world and our corporate and personal values are strongly aligned.”

Beast Industries CEO Jeff Housenbold added that the company was looking forward to “exploring ways to further collaborate and incorporate DeFi into our upcoming financial services platform.”

However, in my personal view this is hardly the most eye-catching collaboration MrBeast has been involved with in the past 24 hours...

Luke Kawa2h

Retail traders just poured the most money into the stock market since the post-tariff bottom

“This past week was exceptional for retail, sustaining the momentum from earlier this year,” writes JPMorgan strategist Arun Jain of the period ended January 14. “Retail investors bought $12.0B in cash equities — the largest weekly inflow since the post Liberation Day V-shape recovery. ETF activity was steady and strong at $7.1B, but notably, retail purchases of single stocks surged to their highest level in nearly 9 months” at $4.9 billion.

Among those single stocks, the Magnificent 7 (ex Apple) got a lot of love, accounting for a little more than one-third of inflows, led by Nvidia and Tesla. The iPhone maker, on the other hand, saw an exodus of about $185 million. Year to date, however, the Mag 7 is negative, lagging the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100.

Tech stocks excluding Magnificent 7 stocks also enjoyed elevated buying activity.

Per Jain, trends from the past five years suggest retail traders’ appetite for stocks should stay robust for about another month.