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Luke Kawa

Will crypto keep coining money?

I am not a bitcoin maxi; I have not had fun staying poor.

But crypto generally, and bitcoin specifically, sits at a busy intersection that includes government policy, retail enthusiasm, and growing institutional adoption.

The rise of crypto has clearly extended its influence beyond the asset class as narrowly defined, and it’s become more entrenched in the traditional financial system and publicly traded securities. Most famously MicroStrategy — but also Tesla, MARA Holdings, Hut 8, and reAlpha Tech — are treating cryptocurrencies as a kind of  “reserve asset” for their firms.

Barclays analysts have argued that Tesla, a trillion-dollar company, is now best compared to cryptocurrencies. For 2024 as a whole, the stock’s daily moves have been roughly as correlated with bitcoin as they are with the fluctuations of its Magnificent 7 counterparts. And crypto played a not insignificant role in facilitating the change in stock-market leadership within tech from semiconductors to software after the US election.

Simply, bitcoin is as good a barometer as any for assessing optimism surrounding the incoming Trump administration in the financial realm, and the willingness of individuals as well as institutions to embrace risk. It’s a one-stop shop for assessing the vibes: you could monitor trading and options activity across a host of speculative pockets of the stock market, or just look at this preeminent crypto instead.

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Figma rises on Citi’s Buy rating and $36 price target

Figma shares are rising moderately in pre-market trading after Citigroup initiated coverage with a Buy rating, saying demand tied to AI could help fuel the design software company’s next phase of growth, according to the note provided by Bloomberg.

Citi set a $36 price target on the stock and said Figma is well-positioned to offset AI disruption concerns through its own AI-driven consumption growth.

"Our proprietary customer and go-to-market (GTM) checks with hyperscalers and large financial services (FS) firms suggest strong seat upgrades & credit pack utilization, which offer positive reads on AI-monetization strategy," analyst Tyler Radke commented.

The company has been moving to roll out AI-native features in recent months, including developer-focused tools and in-house Figma agent aimed at making Figma a more central operating layer between product teams, engineers and AI systems.

Citi also pointed to upcoming product launches and potential monetization tied to Figma’s Model Context Protocol server which is an emerging framework that could allow AI systems to interact more directly with design environments.

Figma’s most recent earnings posted stronger-than-expected revenue growth while management raised its full-year guidance, saying that AI-related products were seeing encouraging adoption.

Still, the company that went public in 2025 has faced intense pressure with stock tumbling more than 50% this year-to-date over fears that automated AI code-generation tools and design alternatives from competitors like Anthropic might squeeze the need for seat-based design software.

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Lionsgate closes higher on Netflix acquisition rumor, streaming giant denies report

Shares for the film production company Lionsgate soared on Tuesday following rumors of a potential buyout.

According to a person familiar with the possible merger and acquisitions deal, streaming giant Netflix is one of the companies that may be interested in buying Lionsgate Studios, per reporting by Semafor. A Netflix spokesperson denied the rumor to Deadline.

Neither Lionsgate nor Netflix confirmed the news, but nevertheless the stock climbed, closing up 14%. The stock fell 4.6% in premarket trading after Netflix denied the rumor.

Netflix closed lower on news that Fox will acquire Roku in an approximately $22 billion deal after it was also rumored that the streaming company was interested in that acquisition. “Netflix did not make a bid for Roku,” a spokesperson told Semafor. This comes after Netflix withdrew its buyout bid for Warner Bros. Discovery earlier this year.

Lionsgate’s shares are up 77% since January. Lionsgate owns massive franchises like “John Wick” and “The Hunger Games.” The film company has a market cap of approximately $4.7 billion, making it roughly 5x smaller than Roku and 13x smaller than Warner Bros.

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