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Cathie Wood sells $5.5 million of surging tech stock

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Cathie Wood sells $5.5 million of surging tech stock


Cathie Wood, head of Ark Investment Management, likes to lock in gains when her tech darlings rally. 

That’s exactly what she’s doing with Snowflake, trimming her position after the cloud software stock surged nearly 10% over the past five trading days ahead of earnings.

In 2025, the flagship Ark Innovation ETF gained 35.49%, far outpacing the S&P 500’s return of 17.88% in the same period. But so far this year, Wood’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) is down 8.51% as of July 31, while the S&P 500 surged 9.41%, Yahoo Finance data shows.

Wood gained a reputation after the Ark Innovation ETF delivered a 153% return in 2020. But her style also brings painful losses in bearish markets, as seen in 2022, when the Ark Innovation ETF tumbled more than 60%.

Those swings have weighed on Wood’s long-term gains. As of July 31, her Ark Innovation ETF has delivered a five-year annualized return of -9.75%, while the S&P 500 has an annualized return of 11.25% over the same period, according to data from Morningstar.

Over the past 12 months through July 30, the Ark Innovation ETF saw roughly $1.49 billion in net outflows.Getty Images

Cathie Wood flags “the deflationary impact” of tech innovation

Wood usually focuses on high-tech companies across artificial intelligence, blockchain, biomedical technology, and robotics. She believes these businesses have strong growth potential, though their volatility often causes fluctuations in the Ark’s funds.

Over the decade ended 2025, the Ark Innovation ETF wiped out nearly $5 billion in investor wealth, according to an analysis by Morningstar’s analyst Amy Arnott. That made it the fourth-biggest wealth destroyer among mutual funds and ETFs in the ranking. 

Wood believes investors have been focusing on the wrong signals as they assess the outlook for inflation, interest rates, and stocks.

In a June post on X, Wood said the bond market is increasingly reflecting the deflationary impact of technological innovation, particularly artificial intelligence, rather than the inflation risks many investors still fear.

Related: Cathie Wood buys $50.1 million of tumbling megacap stock

Wood pointed to the continued flattening of the Treasury yield curve despite a sharp rise in oil prices over the past year. In previous cycles, she noted, an energy shock of that magnitude would have pushed long-term yields higher. 

Wood believes the bond market is “discounting something much more powerful: the deflationary impact of technological innovation, particularly artificial intelligence, which is beginning to increase productivity across broad swaths of the economy.
”

She also said easing tensions with Iran and a decline in oil prices could push inflation even lower.



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ALT5 Sigma transfers $99.7M WLFI as unrealized losses hit $853M: What’s next?

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ALT5 Sigma transfers $99.7M WLFI as unrealized losses hit $853M: What's next?


As the crypto market rallied in 2025 amid positive sentiment around policy changes, ALT5 Sigma jumped at the opportunity to acquire World Liberty Financial [WLFI]. In August, the firm announced plans to raise $750 million to purchase WLFI. 

Later, ALT5 Sigma expanded its strategy to $1.5 billion, becoming the primary Treasury reserve asset. Now, with the market on edge, it captured market share with major token movement. 

Trump-linked Treasury moves $99.7 million WLFI

According to Onchain Lens, ALT5 Sigma transferred 1.815 billion WLFI worth $99.77 million to a new address. After the transfer, the ALT5 Sigma wallet still holds 5.09 billion WFI worth $283.5 million.

Since the transfer was not made to exchanges, it remains an external transfer. Thus, the token transfer could be an internal reorganization. 

Since the transfers did not have an immediate impact on the market, the ALT5 Sigma still holds 7.28 billion and has not sold any.

However, these holdings are sitting on massive unrealized losses. Two wallets hold 6.9 billion WLFI worth $384 million.

With a cost basis of $1.24 billion, these tokens sit on $853.24 million in unrealized losses. To remain afloat, ALT5 Sigma has reportedly borrowed funds from World Liberty Financial. 

How did the World Liberty Financial market react?

Despite the transfer, WLFI has continued with the rebound from a $0.053 slip. The altcoin jumped to a high of $0.056 before slightly retracing.

As of this writing, World Liberty Financial was trading around $0.0557 after rising by 2.85% on the daily charts.

With the price hike, the altcoin flipped the Simple Moving Average at $0.0559, indicating strong short-term upside strength.

WLFI RSI
Source: TradingView

Furthermore, the altcoin’s native Strength Index (RSI) formed a bullish crossover, rising to 46. The rising RSI suggested that buyers are currently attempting to retake the market.

These buyers were mostly speculative traders, as participation in derivatives increased. According to Coinglass data, Derivatives Volume rose 16% to $50.36 million, while the Open Interest climbed 3.2% to $227.6 million.

World Liberty Financial derivativesWorld Liberty Financial derivatives
Source: CoinGlass

Speculative activity has often resulted in short-term price hikes. If the activity holds, the altcoin will flip 50, validating the trend shift.

 In doing so, it will validate the strength of the trend, paving the way towards $0.06. However, holding below 50 suggests sellers remain stronger and buyers have yet to take over fully. 

In fact, on the Spot market, sellers have dominated over the past five days. In fact, the market delta has remained largely negative.

WLFI buy sell volumeWLFI buy sell volume
Source: Coinalyze

Over the past day, for example, the selling volume rose to 15.98 million compared to 12.6 million in buy volume. As a result, the Buy Sell Delta dropped to -3.38 million, a clear sign of aggressive spot selling.

With sellers still dominating the spot, the risk of another pullback remains. If the selling persists, WLFI will breach SMA and fall to $0.053.


Final Summary

  • ALT5 Sigma transferred 1.815 billion WLFI worth $99.77 million to a new address as unrealized losses hit $853.24 million.
  • WLFI rebounded from a $0.053 slip to $0.056 amid renewed demand in the derivatives, but the spot market remains bearish. 



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4 Dividend Energy Stocks to Buy This Month, Starting With ExxonMobil

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4 Dividend Energy Stocks to Buy This Month, Starting With ExxonMobil


The geopolitical conflict in the Middle East has the world on edge. The daily news flow from the region can lead to wide swings in oil and natural gas prices. But the truth is that the energy sector has long been volatile, and today’s events aren’t all that unusual. Which is why long-term investors should probably focus on reliable dividend-paying energy stocks.

ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) has one of the most impressive dividend histories in the energy industry. Close behind is Chevron (NYSE: CVX). For those looking to avoid direct commodity exposure, two of the most reliable high-yield stocks are Enbridge (NYSE: ENB) and Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD). With yields of up to 5.7%, this group of stocks could be your entry point into energy in August.

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Image source: Getty Images.

Get integrated and focus on the dividend checks

It actually gets easier to find energy stocks if you start with the premise that the energy sector is volatile. Income-focused investors can immediately look for the strongest companies with the best dividend histories. That very quickly leads to Exxon and Chevron.

From a business model perspective, they are both globally dominant integrated energy companies. They have exposure to the entire energy value chain, including the upstream (production), midstream (pipelines), and the downstream (chemicals and refining). Geographically, they can invest where management believes it can find the highest returns. And, the broad portfolio diversification helps to soften the energy market’s normal swings.

Meanwhile, both companies have the lowest leverage among their integrated energy peers. Exxon’s debt-to-equity ratio is around 0.2x, while Chevron’s is roughly 0.25x. That gives them the leeway to take on debt during industry downturns to support their businesses and dividends.

The proof of the model here, however, is the reliable, growing dividends Exxon and Chevron have paid. Exxon’s 2.6% yield is backed by 43 annual dividend increases. Chevron’s 3.7% yield is backed by 38 annual increases. The combination of positives here makes Exxon and Chevron the go-to options for dividend investors seeking direct energy exposure.

Sidesteping the commodity exposure

If the swings in oil and natural gas prices are something you want to avoid, however, you can still find attractive dividend stocks in the energy industry. All you need to do is refine your search to focus on the midstream sector.



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‘Great Competitor’ Freddy Peralta Joins Rays’ Already-Strong Rotation

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‘Great Competitor’ Freddy Peralta Joins Rays’ Already-Strong Rotation


In acquiring Freddy Peralta from the Mets, the Rays tapped into their deep farm system without giving up a prospect rated higher than No. 15.

In return for the 30-year-old righthander, Tampa Bay parted with a trio of minor leaguers: 22-year-old outfielder Aidan Smith (Rays’ No. 15 prospect), 21-year-old righthanded pitcher Gary Gill Hill (No. 26) and 23-year-old second baseman Emilien Pitre (No. 27).

“We’re excited to welcome Freddy Peralta to the Tampa Bay Rays,” said Rays president and head of baseball operations, Erik Neander, in a statement. “Freddy is a proven major league starter with high-stakes experience and a strong track record. Adding a pitcher and competitor of his caliber strengthens our team as we push forward.”

Peralta, who was acquired by the Mets in January from Milwaukee, joins an already-strong Tampa Bay rotation. Drew Rasmussen and Nick Martinez, both all-stars, have been among MLB’s best starters all season. Shane McClanahan has rebounded nicely from missing the past two seasons and Griffin Jax, who began this season in the bullpen, has been effective in a starting role for the first time since his rookie season of 2021 when he was with the Twins.

Though desirable to begin with, a need for a starter was heightened when McClanahan exited a July 30 start against Texas due to back tightness. He was placed on the 15-day injured list with the hope he will miss no more than a couple of starts. The lefty missed the 2024 and 2025 seasons due to Tommy John surgery and a triceps injury, respectively.

The Rays have also utilized Ian Seymour as a starter and bulk reliever behind an opener.

“I am very excited, certainly given that (McClanahan) is down, to be able to slot him in,” said manager Kevin Cash, of Peralta, following a 9-1 loss to the White Sox on Sunday that was as unsightly as the final score.

Peralta, a teammate of Rasmussen’s in Milwaukee, is a two-time all-star who spent eight seasons with the Brewers. His best showing was last year (17-6, 2.70 ERA) when he led the National League in wins and was fourth in ERA. He went 70-42, with 3.59 ERA as a Brewer.

Ozzie Timmons was the Brewers’ hitting coach in Milwaukee for three seasons (2022-24) before returning for a second stint on Cash’s staff with the Rays. He has plenty of good things to say about the acquisition, including a comparison to a well-liked shortstop who was with Timmons in Tampa Bay and Milwaukee.

“He’s a great teammate, a competitor and he works hard,” said Tampa Bay’s assistant hitting coach. “He’s a good person, a family man, has a lot of energy. He reminds me of Willy Adames.”

Peralta, a free agent after this season, struggled in Queens in going 5-9, 4.99. He is making $8 million this season with Rays will responsible for a prorated $2.4 million, which should allow them to make other moves to strengthen the lineup. The middle of the infield, in particular, has struggled offensively and with precious little power.

After allowing four runs in five innings to pick the win on Opening Day in Pittsburgh, Peralta was winless (0-3) in six April starts despite an ERA of 2.97. Beginning with a May 29 start against Miami and through his final outing with New York on July 26 against the Dodgers, Peralta had a 6.71 ERA in 11 starts. Alas, that is yesterday’s news as Peralta can look forward to joining a stellar rotation and coaching staff that includes pitching guru Kyle Snyder.

“He’s going to love this place,” said Jax. “We call him “Fastball Freddy” and anytime anybody with a good heater steps on this mound (at Tropicana Field), it’s generally pretty favorable.”

The Rays begin a nine-game road trip in Colorado on Monday night.



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Bitcoin under pressure: Will rising U.S. treasury yields trigger BTC selling?

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Bitcoin under pressure: Will rising U.S. treasury yields trigger BTC selling?


The crypto market has stayed under pressure as capital steadily drains out of the space, and total market capitalization for digital assets now hovers near $2.17 trillion while valuations struggle to find a floor.

Fragile economic conditions and the prospect of fresh action from the Federal Reserve remain a key threat to the outlook, and either one could weigh further on price performance across the board.

Rate hike could be next

Crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen expects the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield to keep gaining strength and sees a high chance of it reclaiming the 5% mark in the near term.

A rising yield reflects instability in an economy, particularly around inflation, and Cowen’s prediction lands as the U.S. 30-year bond yield crossed 5.28% on the 31st of July, one of its highest levels since 2007.

U.S. 10 year bond yield chart.
Source: TradingView/ Benjamin Cowen

The climb has been building for weeks, drawing investors toward lower-risk assets and steadily pulling capital away from bets like Bitcoin [BTC]. Cowen noted lowering rates does not automatically translate into lower yields, and he pointed to 2024-2025 as his case study.

The Fed cut rates from 5.5% to 3.75% from 2024-2025 and yet the 30 year yield is higher today than when interest rates were 5.5%!

He ties the expected move to the Federal Open Market Committee cutting rates too early, and he expects the pressure on the long end to keep building. A yield holding above 5% would eventually force the Fed to raise rates and tighten the flow of capital into risk assets.

Impact of a rising yield

A rising yield carries a clear knock-on effect once the Fed lifts interest rates. A hike tends to restrict capital flow because borrowing grows more expensive, and it pushes investors toward stable assets over riskier bets.

Cryptocurrencies are broadly considered risk assets, so tighter conditions consistently leave less capital coming from the US side, which can feed a gradual slowdown across the market.

That rotation toward safety already surfaced on Friday, when U.S.-listed products recorded a sharp spike in outflows and a visible drop in capital as the 30-year yield pushed to fresh highs.

U.S. Crypto ETF chart. U.S. Crypto ETF chart.
Source: SosoValue

BTC and Hyperliquid [HYPE] sat on the losing side, with $265.37 million and $1.83 million pulled from the two assets, while other funds, including Ethereum [ETH] and Ripple [XRP], saw thinner flows of $9.03 million and $7.69 million, respectively.

A steeper rate hike would raise the odds of the bear market stretching on even longer.

Capital flow in the market

Capital across the market has thinned over the past few weeks, and the drain feeds directly into current conditions.

Stablecoins have seen heavy redemptions, with total supply down from $321.82 billion on the 22nd of May and roughly $14.27 billion pulled from the market since.

Most of the remaining stablecoin balance now sits idle instead of flowing into crypto, a sign investors are holding back from fresh bets on digital assets.


Final Summary

  • Cowen expects the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield to keep climbing and reclaim the 5% mark, a move he believes would eventually push the Fed toward raising rates.
  • Higher yields are already steering money into safer assets, and the resulting pullback in capital leaves Bitcoin and the wider crypto market exposed to a longer slowdown.



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Legacy crypto on-ramps and bridges will disappear as payments become invisible, Fun CEO says

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Legacy crypto on-ramps and bridges will disappear as payments become invisible, Fun CEO says

While those applications have become increasingly visible, the infrastructure that enables deposits, withdrawals and settlement has largely remained behind the scenes.

Fun is one of the companies building that infrastructure. The firm said it powers 100% of deposits and withdrawals on Polymarket and deposit flows into Aave’s largest vaults, while processing more than $3 billion in monthly transaction volume.

The company has raised more than $75 million to date.

From payment rails to funding flows

Fine said today’s crypto payments ecosystem remains unnecessarily fragmented, with developers forced to stitch together different card processors, banking partners, crypto assets, blockchains and bridges to create funding experiences.

Instead of relying on individual payment rails, platforms should optimize around the end goal of getting users funded as quickly and seamlessly as possible, he says.

“In Web2, payments are highly fungible,” Fine said. “In Web3, they’re much more complex because every payment method behaves differently. Teams keep rebuilding the same infrastructure over and over again instead of building unified optimized funding flows.”

That shift means many existing crypto payment businesses risk becoming obsolete, according to Fine. Companies built around converting fiat into crypto or moving assets between blockchains are solving an intermediary step that users never cared about in the first place, he argued.



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Novo Nordisk shares in hot water after disappointing trial

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Novo Nordisk shares in hot water after disappointing trial


Investors who had hopes that Novo Nordisk (NVO) could succeed outside of weight-loss drugs were disappointed on Friday, July 31.

The Danish drugmaker said its experimental heart drug Ziltivekimab failed the main goal of a large late-stage trial, and the stock fell fast.

Novo has spent 2026 trying to prove it can grow beyond Wegovy and Ozempic, and this was one of the clearest tests of that plan.

For anyone holding the stock or watching the dip, the reaction says a lot about how much the market had riding on this trial.

Novo Nordisk stock falls after its ZEUS heart drug trial misses

Novo Nordisk started July 31 with one of its worst trading sessions in months.

The company said its heart drug Ziltivekimab failed the main goal of the ZEUS trial, and investors sold the stock fast.

Novo Nordisk’s Danish shares fell about 7.5% on the day, while the company’s U.S.-listed shares dropped 8.6% in early trading, CNBC reported.

The drop shows how much investors were counting on Ziltivekimab to become a second growth engine next to Novo’s weight-loss and diabetes drugs.

That hope is now on hold, and the stock reaction reflects it.

What the ZEUS trial tested and why it failed

ZEUS was a late-stage trial that followed more than 6,300 people, according to Novo Nordisk’s press release.

The patients had atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and ongoing inflammation. That last group matters because inflammation is linked to heart attacks and strokes.

Ziltivekimab is a once-monthly injection that blocks a protein called IL-6, which drives inflammation in the body.

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Novo wanted to show that lowering inflammation would also lower the rate of major adverse cardiovascular events, like heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death.

The drug did lower inflammation markers as designed, but that biological effect did not turn into fewer heart events.

The trial posted a hazard ratio of 0.99, which means patients on the drug had almost the same risk as patients on a placebo.

One safety detail stood out. Patients on Ziltivekimab had more serious infections than those on placebo, though overall death rates were similar between the two groups.

Novo Nordisk’s cardiovascular ambitions took a hit after its ZEUS trial missed its main goal.Cheng Xin / Getty Images

Why the failure hit Novo Nordisk stock so hard

Novo has spent 2026 trying to prove it can grow beyond Wegovy and Ozempic.

Analysts widely expected Ziltivekimab to deliver at least some heart benefit and eventually reach billions in annual sales.



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