Crypto and Bitcoin mining stocks were hit with serious volatility after the U.S. presidential debate, which saw Kamala Harris outperform Donald Trump according to public polls. Stocks like Coinbase and MicroStrategy dropped but were able to recover later, while some Bitcoin mining firms ended the day with minor losses. Things are also looking up for blockchain projects as Tune.fm secured $50 million in funding, while Ford and Toyota are leading blockchain innovation in vehicle technology by filing multiple patents. Funding into AI projects is also increasing, and OpenAI is in discussions to raise $6.5 billion to elevate its valuation to $150 billion.
Harris Debate Win Shakes Crypto Stocks
Crypto and Bitcoin mining-related stocks had a volatile trading day on Sept. 11. The prices of these stocks plunged in the hours after the debate between U.S. presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
Market reactions favored Harris as she was considered to be the debate's winner, which led to the initial decline in crypto-linked shares. Despite this, most stocks managed to recover later in the day, with only minor losses by the market’s close.
Coinbase Global Inc share price (Source: Google Finance)
Coinbase (COIN) saw its stock drop to a low of $150 before recovering to $157 in after-hours trading. Similarly, MicroStrategy (MSTR), which is known for its very large Bitcoin holdings, dropped to $122 before closing at $129.30, with further after-hours trading showing a slight decline to $128.50.
Bitcoin mining firms like Marathon Digital (MARA) and Riot Platforms (RIOT) followed a similar pattern, with early losses that were partially reversed by the day’s end. The two miners ended up closing down 0.94% and 2.07%, respectively. Hut 8 (HUT) was the only exception, and ended the day up 1.29% after recovering from a low of $9.76 to close at $10.58.
The price fluctuations were largely attributed to public opinion after the debate where most people believed Harris outperformed Trump. A YouGov survey showed that 54% of voters believed Harris won the debate, while only 31% favored Trump. A CNN poll showed very similar results.
YouGov survey results (Source: YouGov)
In the broader market, crypto assets experienced a decline, with the total market capitalization shedding $60 billion on Sept. 11. However, the market recovered by 2.3%, and returned to pre-debate levels. Trump-themed memecoins also saw a massive sell-off, with all of them posting double-digit losses over the 24-hour period after the debate.
Tune.fm Secures $50M Investment
In addition to crypto stock prices recovering, there is also an influx of funding into blockchain projects. Decentralized music streaming platform Tune.fm has secured a new investment of $50 million from Global Emerging Markets, bringing its total funding to $80 million.
The capital will be used to provide liquidity for the platform’s JAM token, which is used to reward both artists and users. Tune.fm operates on the Hedera blockchain, and has a range of prior investors, including LDA Capital, Alpha Token Capital, Block Alpha, Animoca Brands, The HBAR Foundation, and GDA Capital.
Tune.fm offers an integrated music streaming service and NFT marketplace, where artists receive micropayments for every second their music is streamed. Users also earn tokens by discovering and listening to promoted tracks. The platform simplifies the user experience by automatically creating blockchain wallets for new users, which eliminates the need for third-party wallets at sign-up.
Other blockchain music platforms are exploring similar models. Royal allows fans to co-own music copyrights through NFTs, and has already attracted well known artists like rapper Nas, who released NFTs tied to his music in 2022. Additionally, eMusic introduced its own cryptocurrency, the eMU token, in 2020, promising to give artists direct revenue.
The music industry has gone through a lot of changes from physical sales to digital streaming. Statista projects that the global music streaming market will generate around $34 billion by 2027.
Tune.fm has criticized major streaming platforms like Spotify, and argues that artists earn only a fraction of the profits. Spotify has a market capitalization of around $66.71 billion, yet reportedly only pays artists between $0.003 and $0.004 per stream. Earnings also only start after 1,000 streams in a 12-month period.
Ford and Toyota Lead Blockchain Innovation
Ford and Toyota are also still leading the development of blockchain-based vehicle technology, which was made very evident by recent patent filings. In the second quarter of 2024, the two companies filed a combined 43 blockchain-related patents.
Ford patent publication trends (Source: JustAuto)
Ford increased its filings from three in Q1 to 14 in Q2. Toyota’s filings rose from 25 to 29 patents during the same period. They were able to achieve this during a period wherein the overall number of blockchain-related patents in the industry saw a decline.
Toyota patent publication trends (Source: JustAuto)
Ford’s filings include a patent for a system that uses blockchain to manage vehicle ownership data through smart contracts, allowing for automatic updates to the ownership ledger in real-time. This would enable seamless transfers of vehicle titles and ownership with minimal manual intervention.
Toyota, on the other hand, filed a patent for a blockchain system to manage NFTs associated with vehicles. This will help with more accurate records of vehicles in storage or held by dealers.
While blockchain innovations continue to progress, both Ford and Toyota have shifted their focus away from fully autonomous vehicles to "driver assistance" technologies. However, blockchain could play a key role in these developments, particularly through blockchain-based city infrastructure that might improve the performance of autonomous vehicle technology.
OpenAI Eyes $6.5 Billion Boost
Funding for AI projects is also looking up. Artificial intelligence startup OpenAI is in advanced discussions to secure $6.5 billion in funding, which would raise its valuation to $150 billion. A Sept. 11 report from Bloomberg revealed that the valuation excludes the money being raised, and the company is also seeking an additional $5 billion in a revolving credit facility. This will allow OpenAI to draw, repay, and redraw funds as needed.
The new valuation is much higher than the $86 billion set during the company's February tender offer. Thrive Capital is reportedly leading the funding round with a $1 billion investment, while tech giants like Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft are also involved. Microsoft already invested close to $13 billion in OpenAI since 2019, and already owns 49% of the company. Amounts from other investors are unknown.
OpenAI has been growing its revenue, and reported annualized sales of $3.4 billion as of May. The company has also seen an impressive increase in users across its services, including ChatGPT Enterprise, Teams, and Edu. It surpassed 1 million users, which is a 67% rise since April.
To capitalize on this momentum, OpenAI plans to launch premium subscription models for its new language models, Strawberry and Orion, which could cost up to $2,000 per month.
The competition in AI development has intensified quite a bit, and is pushing startups to raise billions. Former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever recently secured $1 billion for his own new startup, Safe Superintelligence, which plans to develop highly intelligent and safe AI systems. Investors in this project include a16z, Sequoia, and others.
